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Presented  to  the 
LIBRARY  of  the 

UNIVERSITY  OF  TORONTO 

hy 

Robin  S.   Harris 


^/ 


VIVES  :      ON     EDUCATION 


CAMBRIDGE    UNIVERSITY    PRESS 

ILontion:   FETTER  LANE,  E.G. 

C.   F.  CLAY,  Manager 


CHtjinburgl) :   loo,  PRINCES  STREET 
Berlin:   A.  ASHER  AND  CO. 
ILtipjig:    F.  A.   BROCKHAUS 

ilitta  lork:   G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 
Jjombau  ant)  CalcuUa :   MACMILLAN  AND  CO.,  Ltd. 


AH  rights  reserved 


iSyaus    tn    ^^riilpervs    -Qi.'O'E.s   reaionthus  ortum 

^Protullt    arc^oum  cur  juhar    ufq^    polwn  T,  i  A. 

[i^'^l^;'ll^^LiJa^::Eamamm^;^^dJ!■.;^l!M^v;llM''^ 


Ju;in    Luis   V'ives 
(1493-1540) 


VIVES:    ON   EDUCATION 

A    TRANSLATION    OF    THE 

DE    TRADENDIS    DISCIPLINIS 

OF    JUAN     LUIS    VIVES 

TOGETHER    WITH    AN    INTRODUCTION 

BY 

FOSTER    WATSON,     D.Lir. 

PROFESSOR    OF    EDUCATION    IN    THE    UNIVERSITY 
COLLEGE    OF    WALES,    ABERYSTWYTH 


Cambridge ; 

at  the  University   Press 

1913 


Cambritigc : 

PRINTED   BY  JOHN   CLAY,    M.A. 
AT  THE   UNIVERSITY   PRESS. 


:fKOHlC  VERSION 
AVAILASU    ^,^ 


r' 


ShBi  BY 
?RcSllKVAJIOH 


PREFACE 

WAS  Vives  a  greater  thinker  on  educational  matters  than 
Erasmus  ?  The  answer  which  most  people  would  give 
to  this  question  probably  would  be  :  "  We  never  heard  of  Vives, 
and  we  are  perfectly  familiar  with  the  outstanding  importance 
of  the  work  of  Erasmus,  therefore  we  are  provisionally 
prepared  to  stand  by  the  premier  position  of  Erasmus.  If  we 
err,  we  err  in  good  company,  for  have  not  the  intervening 
centuries  placed  Erasmus  as  the  leader  of  the  progressive  forces 
of  the  Renascence  ?  " 

Nevertheless,  even  in  a  matter  of  such  a  widely  spread 
tradition  as  that  of  Erasmus'  leadership  in  education,  at  least 
if  the  term  is  understood  in  the  sense  of  insight  into  educational, 
principles  and  a  comprehensive  treatment  of  its  problems,  it 
is  clear  that  the  student  of  the  history  of  education  should 
preserve  an  open  mind.  Moreover,  he  will  realise  that  he 
cannot  form  an  opinion  on  the  subject  until  he  has  read  at 
least  as  much  of  the  works  on  education  written  by  Vives,  as 
he  has  read  of  Erasmus. 

Hitherto  there  has  been  no  translation  of  Vives'  main 
educational  work,  the  de  Tradendis  Discipiinis,  into  English, 
so  that  however  willing  to  present  the  open  mind  to  Vives  and 


y\  Pj-eface 

to  form  an  opinion  as  to  his  relative  position  as  an  educational 
thinker,  no  one  has  been  able  to  do  so  without  wading  through 
the  Latin  text  of  Vives,  unless,  indeed,  within  recent  years,  he 
has  read  the  translations  into  German  of  Heine,  VVychgram  or 
Kayscr.     So  that  to  form  a  judgment  about  Vives  has  hitherto 
involved  much  labour,  and  this  translation  will  at  least  make 
available  to  the  English  reader  important  material  for  estimating 
the  value  of  Vives'  contribution  to  the  subject  of  education. 
In  answer  to  the  consideration,  suggested  above,  that  Vives 
has  been  held  in  lower  esteem  than  Erasmus  throughout  the 
intervening  centuries,  it  has  seemed  necessary,  or  at  least  de- 
sirable, to  trace  in  the  Introduction  the  influence  which  Vives 
has  exercised  on  the  development  of  educational  theory,  and 
to  point  out  that  if  his  name  has  not  always  been  en  evidence, 
yet  clearly  his  views,  if  not  present  to  the  mind  of  certain  later 
writers,  at  least  have  been  so  nearly  reproduced  in  their  statement 
and  exposition  as  to  suggest  irresistibly  that  whether  such  later 
writers  consciously  borrowed  from  Vives  or  not,  any  claim  to 
originality  attributed  to  them,  might  a  fortiori,  attach  to  the 
earlier  advocate  of  the  same  educational  truths. 

The  object  in  making  this  translation  into  English,  and  of 
writing  the  Introduction  is  not  to  settle  the  exact  position  to 
be  accorded  to  Vives  in  the  history  of  education,  but  to 
provide  the  student  of  education  with  the  material  for  his  own 
judgment  as  to  the  significance  of  Vives. 

Yet,  perhaps,  the  most  decisive  way  of  attacking  the 
problem  of  Vives'  position  is,  without  prejudice,  to  ask  boldly 
the  question :  Was  Vives,  judging  from  the  extant  works  of 
both,  a  more   fruitful  thmker   on   educational  questions  than 


Preface  vii 

Erasmus  ?  There  is  no  loss  of  reverence  for  Erasmus  involved 
in  raising  the  question.  3[ives  had  been  his  pupil,  and  was-^  » 
always  proud  of  his  master.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
the  younger  man  in  attaining  any  educational  influence  would 
have  experienced  at  least  as  much  satisfaction  in  the  credit 
going  to  his  master  for  his  wise  training,  as  in  any  personal 
glory  achieved  by  independence  of  opinion ;  though  he  would 
have  cared  more  for  the  truth  of  what  he  asserted  than  for  the 
glory  either  of  his  master  or  of  himself. 

Nor  need  we  hesitate  to  institute  a  comparison  between 
Vives  and  Erasmus  on  a  specific  point.  Erasmus  has  himself 
set  an  example  of  a  similar  kind.  He  wrote  in  the  Ciceronianus 
that  Jodocus  Badius,  the  printer,  had  ability  as  a  writer  of 
Ciceronian  style,  whilst  Guillaume  Bude,  the  greatest  living 
Greek  scholar  of  the  age,  had  it  not.  The  Budaeans  raged 
because  he  had  compared  Badius  favourably  with  Bude.  But 
Erasmus  answered  that  he  had  only  made  the  comparison  on 
one  point,  not  in  all  respects,  and  that  on  that  one  point,  Bude 
would  not  wish  to  claim  pre-eminence  for  himself.  So  in  the 
present  volume  it  is  suggested  that  there  is  a  prima  facie  case 
for  inquiry,  whether  Vives  in  his  desire  for  the  social  good,  and 
all  questions  bearing  upon  that  standpoint,  has  not  treated  the 
subject  of  education  so  fruitfully  as  to  be  emphatically  the 
greatest  European  educational  leader  of  the  first  half  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  Erasmus,  without 
inquiry,  is  often  placed  in  that  position. 

At  any  rate,  Vives'  book  on  the  Transmission  of  Knoivledge 
affords  an  interesting  insight  into  the  transition  stage  from 
MediaevaUsm  to   the  Renascence-  and  modern  times,  and  is 


viii  I'rcjacc 

stimulative  and  suggestive  in  the  spirit  of  high  educative 
endeavour  even  for  the  present  day. 

The  portrait  of  Vives,  the  frontispiece  of  this  volume,  is 
taken  from  Theodore  de  Bry's  engraving  in  J.  J.  Broissard's 
Ico/ies  Virorum  Illustrhun  [1597-8].  The  date  in  the  left- 
hand  bottom  corner  [1541]  is  wrong,  Vives  died  in   1540. 

The  marginal  descriptive  insets  and  the  reference  notes  are 
chiefly  translated  from  the  only  edition  [in  Latin],  probably 
printed  in  Leyden,  of  an  English  editor,  Henry  Jackson \  in 
161 2,  Fellow  of  Corpus  Christi  College,  Oxford,  the  College  in 
which  Vives  lived  when  he  lectured  in  Oxford. 

The  reader  may  find  the  subject-matter  of  Vives'  treatise 
closer  to  modern  educational  interests  if  studied,  on  the  first 
reading,  in  the  following  order :  Dedicatory  Address,  Vives' 
Preface,  the  Appendix,  and  then,  Books  v,  iv,  11,  in,  1. 

1  See  note,  p.  cvii  infra. 

FOSTER  \\'ATSON. 

Caledfrvn, 

Aberystwyth. 

March   13,   1913. 


CONTENTS 


Portrait  of  Vives Frontispiece 


Preface 


Bibliography  of  Latin  texts  of  de  Disciplinis         .  xii 

Chronological  Table  of  the  Life  of  J.  L.  Vives  xiii 


Introduction. 

L      Vives  :    known  and  unknown     . 

IL     Juan  Luis  Vives 

i.      Vives  at  Valencia 

ii.     Vives  at  Paris 

iii.    Vives  at  Bruges  and  Louvain 

iv.     Vives  in  Oxford  and  in  London 

V.      Back  to  Bruges    . 

in.     Vives  on  Education    . 

Vives,  "the  second  Quintilian  " 

Vives,  a  modern  thinker 

Vives  and  Bacon 

Vives  on  Nature-studies 

Vives'  use  of  the  Inductive  Method 

Vives  and  Mathematics 

Vives  and  the  study  of  Psychology 

Language-teaching  in  Education 

A  universal  language  . 

Latin  and  other  languages. 

The  teaching  of  Latin  Grammar 

Latin  speaking     .... 

Mental  discipline  of  linguistic  studies 


xvii-xlii 

xliii-c 

xliii 

liv 

Ixiii 

Ixxiii 

Ixxxii-c 

ci-clvii 

ci 

cii 

ciii 

cxi 

cxv 

'iii  note* 

cxix 

cxxii 

cxxvi 

cxxvii 

cxxx 

cxxxiii 

cxxxiv 


X 


Contents 


III.     V'ives  on  Education  cont. 
Latin  School-authors 
The  Greek  language 
Modern  languages 
The  Vernacular   . 
History 

The  "Academy.". 
The  "  final  aim  "  . 


cxxxvi 

cxxxviii 

cxxxviii 

cxli 

cxlv 

cxlviii 

cliii 


THE   TRANSMISSION    OF   KNOWLEDGE 


Dedicatory  Address 
VivEs'  Preface 


Book  I.    Educational  Origins. 

Chap.      I.        Beginnings  of  Society  . 
Beginnings  of  Studies  . 
Arts  and  Sciences 
God  our  Highest  Good 
Divisions  of  Knowledge 
Choice  of  Books  . 


Schools  and  Teachers 
II.        The  Ideal  School 
HI.      Choice  of  Pupils  . 
IV.      Teachers  and  Taugfht 


II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

Book  II. 

SCH 

Chap. 

I. 

1 1 

17 
23 
28 

37 
44 


53 
62 
72 
81 


Book  III. 

La 

Chap. 

I. 

„ 

II. 

)) 

III. 

„ 

IV. 

V. 

Language  Teaching. 

Latin  and  other  Languages 
The  Vernacular  in  Teaching 
Latin  Speaking 
The  Course  of  Training 
The  Reading  of  Authors 


90 

ICX) 

107 
116 
124 


Contents 


XI 


Book  III.     Language  Teaching  cont. 
Chap.    VI.       Latin  Authors 
„        VII.      The  Study  of  Greek     . 
„        VIII.     Classical  Philology 
„         IX.      V^ives'  Contemporaries. 


131 

143 
150 
156 


Book  IV. 

Higher  .Studies. 

Chap. 

I. 

Logic.     Nature-Study  . 

55 

II. 

Disputations    and    the    "  First    P 
sophy  "..... 

III. 

The  Study  of  Rhetoric 

IV. 

Imitation        .         .         .         .         . 

V. 

The  Mathematical  Sciences 

VI. 

Auxiliary  Practical  Arts 

VII. 

The  Training  of  the   Physician    . 

Book  V. 

Studies  and  Life. 

hilo- 


Chap.  I.  Practical  Wisdom 

„  II.  Historical  Studies 

„  III.  Moral  Philosophy 

„  IV.  The  Study  of  Law 

Appendix.  The  Scholar's  Life  and  Character. 

Chap.  I.  The  Aim  of  Studies 

„  II.  The  .Scholar  and  the  World 

„  III.  The  Scholar's   Difficulties     . 


163 

172 
180 
189 
201 
208 
219 


227 

237 
250 
262 


272 
285 


Index 


305 


BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF   THE    LATIN 
TEXTS    OF   DE   DISCIPLINIS 

1531  Antwerp:    Michael    Hilleniiis   in    Rapo,   1531,  mense  Julio 

Cum  Privilegio  Caesareo.     Fol. 

Contains  twenty  books.  De  corruptis  artibus,  libri  vil. 
De  Tradendis  Disciplinis,  libri  v.  De  Artibus:  de  prima 
philosophia  (three  books)  ;  de  explanatione  cuiusque 
essentiae;  de  censura  veri  (two  books);  de  instrumento 
probabilitatis ;    de  disputatione. 

1532  Cologne:    Joannes  Gymnicus   1532  (mense  Januario).     8°. 

1536     Cologne :    Joannes  Gymnicus.     8". 

1551     Lyons :    Apud  Joannem  F'ellonium.     8". 
All  the  above  contain  twenty  books. 

1612  [Ley den  ?]  De  Disciplinis.  Hi  de  Corruptis  Artibus 
Doctissimi  viri  notis,  illi  de  tradendis  Disciplinis  cuius- 
dani  Studiosi  Oxoniensis  annotationibus  illustrati.  Citni 
indie e  copioso.  I))iprcssun'.  1612.  8°. 
The  British  Museum  catalogue  suggests  Leyden  as  the 
place  of  publication. 

1636     Leyden.     Ex  officina  Joan.   Maire   1636.     12". 

1764     Naples.     Ex  Typographia  Simonian;i,  Superiorum  peimissu. 


CHRONOLOGICAL   TABLE    OF   THE 
LIFE    OF   JUAN    LUIS    VIVES 

1492     (Apparently  March  6)  Vives  was  born  at  Valencia.     Baptised 

in  the  Church  of  St  Andrew. 
1508     At  the  Academy  or  University  of  Valencia. 
1509-14     In  Paris.     At  the  College  of  Beauvais. 
1514     Stayed  several  weeks  in  Bruges,  in  the  house  of  Bernard 

Valdaura. 
Nov.    14   and    Dec.    2,    Vives'    name    occurs    in    two   legal 

documents  at  Bruges  (Archives  de  la  Prevote  de  Saint- 

Donatian). 

1518  Guillaume  de  Croy,  Cardinal  and  Archbishop  designate  of 

Toledo,  becomes  the  pupil  of  Vives. 
At   Louvain.      Writes  his  Meditationes  in  septon  psahnos 

poenitentiae. 
Gives  lessons  to  Jerome  Ruffault,  who  afterwards  became 

Abbot  of  St  Peter  at  Ghent. 

1519  At    Louvain.     February   13,   finishes   his  Liber  in    Pscudo- 

dialecticos — and  in  April,  his  Pompeius  fugiens. 
Middle  of  the   year,  visits   Paris   for  several    months   and 

becomes  acquainted  with  Guillaume  Bude. 
Taught  at  Louvain. 

1520  (towards   the   end  of)  Vives    began    his   Commentaries   on 

St  Augustine's  Civitas  Dei. 

1521  (January  10).     Death  of  his  former  pupil  Cardinal  de  Croy 

(aged  23  years). 
Vives  falls  ill,  and  is  taken  to  Bruges,  where  he  can  have 

better  medical  treatment  in   the    Spanish    colony  there. 

He   is   received  in  the  house   of  his   compatriot,  Pedro 

de  Aguirra,  a  rich  merchant. 
July  10.     Vives  writes  to  More,  stating  his  hopes  of  royal 

favour  and  monetary  help  from  Wolsey's  prospective  visit. 
Vives  was  present  at  fetes  given    in    honour   of  Cardinal 

Wolsey,  who  was  then  at  Bruges. 


xiv      Chronological   Tabic  of  the  lijc  of  Vives 

Published  De  Initiis,  sectis,  et  laudibus  Philosophiae  (written 
in  1518;  published  in  1521,  on  the  advice  of  Paquier  or 
Pascal  de  Bierset  (Berzelius),  Benedictine  monk  of  the 
St-Laurent-lez-Li^ge  Monastery). 

In  November.     Returned  to  Louvain. 

1522  .At  Bruges,  to  take  leave  of  compatriots  who  were  joining  the 

Emperor  in  his  journey  to   Spain.     Death   of  Pedro  de 

Aguirra. 
Stayed  in  the   Lange   Winckel  at   Bruges— the  quarter  of 

Spanish  merchants. 
Finished    Commentaries    on    St    Augustine's    Civitas   J)ei\ 

which  he  dedicated  to  King  Henry  V^IIl. 
The  Duke  of  Alva  sent  a  proposal  to  Vives  to  become  tutor  to 

his  son,  offering  200  golden  ducats  for  salary.    A  Dominican 

monk  failed  to  deliver  the  document  conveying  the  offer. 
First  visit  of  Vives  to  England,  where  he  failed  to  secure  any 

post  or  patronage. 

1523  April.       Vives     finished     the     cie     1  nstitutioiie     Feminae 

Christianae.  At  the  request  of  Wolsey,  Vives  came  to 
England,  and  had  the  direction  of  the  Princess  Mary 
placed  in  his  hands,  for  whom  he  wrote  the  de  Ratione 
Studii  Piterilis  (completed  October  1523). 

October  10,  incorporated  as  LL.D.  in  Oxford  University. 
Stayed  in  Corpus  Christi  College,  Oxford. 

Wrote  his  dc  Consultationc  for  Louis  de  Flandre,  seigneur 
de  Praet. 

Translated  an  Oration  of  Isocrates  for  Wolsey,  Dec.  15,  1523. 

1524  April.     Returned  from  Oxford  to  Bruges,  and  there  married 

Margaret   Valdaura   (age    20)   on    May    26,   daughter   of 
Bernard  Valdaura,  whose  wife  was  Clara  Cervent. 
November.     In   London  and  Oxford. 

1526-27  Divided  between  Bruges  and  England,  the  summer  in 
England  ;  the  winter  in  Bruges. 

1526  Louis  de  Flandre,  seigneur  de  Praet,  who  had  met  Vives 
in  England  induced  him  to  write  De  Subventione 
Pauperum^  which  was  finished  6  January  1526-7.  The 
College  des  Echevins  of  Bruges  presented  Vives  with  a 
silver  cup  and  the  book  was  translated  into  Dutch  at  the 
charges  of  the  magistracy  of  Bruges. 


Chronological  Table  of  the  life  of  Fives     xv 

1528  Took  the  part  of  Catharine  of  Aragon  in  the  divorce  project 

of  Henry  VIII.  Examined  by  Wolsey  as  to  his  interviews 
with  Catharine.  Placed  zn  libera  custodia  for  six  weeks, 
then  sent  from  the  Court  and  the  country  to  Bruges,  and 
the  King's  pension  withdrawn. 

November.  Margaret  of  Savoy  sent  Vives  a  safe-conduct 
to  England  to  defend  Queen  Catharine,  but  on  the  failure 
of  Vives  to  appear  as  Catharine's  advocate,  the  Queen's 
pension  like  the  King's  was  withdrawn.  {Cal.  State 
Papers.) 

Vives  published  the  de  Officio  Mariti. 

1529  The  sweating-sickness,  on  which  John  Caius  wrote,  appeared 

in  Bruges.  Vives  was  asked  by  the  authorities  of 
St  Donatian  at  Bruges  to  write  an  office :  Sacrum 
diurnum  de  siidore  Jesii  Christi :  Concio  de  nostra  et 
Christi  sudore. 
Vives  wrote  the  de  Concordia  et  Discordia  in  Hiimano 
Genere. 
1531     (July).     The  de  Disciplinis  was  published  at  Antwerp. 

1535  At  Antwerp,  whence  he  dates  the  preface  to  Exercitationcs 

aniini  in  Deum. 

1536  Vives  was  for  six  months  in  Paris. 

1537-38     At  Breda,  tutor  to  Mencia  de  Mendoza,  the  Marchioness 

del  Canete. 
1538     (September).     Vives  published  (at  Basle)  the  de  Aninia  et 

Vita,  the  first  modern  work  on  psychology.     In  this  year 

was  published  at  Breda  his  Linguae  Latinae  Exercitatio 

(i.e.  School  Dialogues). 
1540     Vives  died  at  Bruges  6  May — at  the  age  of  48  years.     Buried 

in  the  Chapel  of  St  Joseph,  in  the  Church  of  St  Donatian 

at  Bruges. 
1543     Vives'   theological    work    published    by   John    Oporinus   at 

Basle:    de   Veritate  Fidei   Christianae  {contra   Ethnicos, 

Judaeos,  Agarenos,  sive  Mahometanos,  ac  perverse  Chris- 

tianos)  libri  quinque. 
1552     (October  i).     Margaret  Vives,  his  widow,  died. 


"We  (scholars)  must  transfer  our  solicitude  (from  princes)  to 
the  people." 

J.  L.  Vives,  Transniissioti  of  Kftcm>/edge,  p.  278  infra. 

j         "This  then  is  the  fruit  of  all  studies  ;  this  is  the  goal.     Having 
r^     acquired  our  knowledge,  we  must  turn  it  to  usefulness,  and  employ 
I  it  for  the  common  good." 
U'  Ibid.,  p.   283  infra. 


INTRODUCTION 
CHAPTER   I 

VIVES:     KNOWN    AND    UNKNOWN 

It  has  been  pointed  out'  that  Vives  is  not  mentioned  by 
Ticknor,  the  best  historian  of  Spanish  literature.  The  omission 
was  not  remedied  even  by  the  translators'-  of  that  work  into 
Spanish.  But  Spain  has  shown  much  literary  activity  since 
that  time,  more  than  sixty  years  ago,  and  the  name  of  Vives 
now  is  honoured  as  a  discovery  of  a  great  man  of  letters  with 
a  satisfaction  not  altogether  dissimilar  to  that  experienced  in 
the  time  of  the  Revival  of  Learning,  when  the  works  of  an 
ancient  Latin  or  Greek  author  came  to  the  light  of  day.  No 
one  can  now  write  about  Vives  without  reference  to  the  work' 
of  research  by  Sehor  D.  Adolfo  Bonilla  y  San  Martin ^  a  verit- 
able storehouse  of  knowledge  with  regard  to  Vives  ;  his  life, 
his  works,  and  his  relation  to  his  times,  from  the  point  of  view 
of  Spain,  and  also  of  Europe  at  large. 

^  See  L.   Massebieau:  Les  Colloqius  Scolaires  (hi  XVI^  Siede  (Paris, 
1878). 

-  Viz.  Pascual  de  Gayangos  and  E.  de  Vedia,  Madrid,   1851. 
*  Entitled :    Ltiis    Vives  y   la    Filosofia  del   Renaciiiiiaito.     Memoria 
preiniada  por  la  Real  Acadetnia  de  Ciencias  Morales  y  Politicas,  Madrid, 
1903. 

F.  W.  b 


xx'iii  Introduction 

This  great  work  must  now  occupy  the  highest  position  for 
its  comprehensive  account  of  Vives,  a  position  which  students 
of  all  nations  will  as  gladly  recognise  as  fittingly  falling  to 
Spain,  as  Spanish  students  will  rejoice  that  it  was  Seiior  Bonilla 
who  undertook  the  onerous  but  congenial  task — yet  there  were 
forerunners  in  the  re-discovery  of  the  importance  of  Vives, 
whose  labours  made  possible  a  thorough  study  of  the  facts  of 
Vives'  life  and  works. 

The  pioneer  writer  in  collecting  the  facts  concerning  Vives 
was  Gregorius  Majansius,  a  Spaniard,  who  wrote  the  life  of 
Vives  which  accompanies  his  edition  of  Vives'  works  in  eight 
volumes  published  in  1782,  at  Valencia',  the  birthplace  of 
Vives.  This  magnificent  edition  was  published  at  the  expense 
of  the  Archbishop  of  Valencia,  Francisco  Fabian  at  Fuero. 
It  reminds  the  reader  of  the  lordly  publishing  enterprise  of 
the  Renascence  Cardinal  Jimenez  at  the  Spanish  University  of 
Alcala,  in  the  early  years  of  the  i6th  century. 

The  men  to  whom  we  owe  the  deepest  debts,  after 
Majansius,  in  the  way  of  direct  research,  are  A.  J.  Nameche^ 
Professor  of  Rhetoric  in  the  College  de  la  Haute-Colline  in 
the  University  of  Louvain,  in  1841;  Emile  Vanden  Bussche*, 

^  The  title  of  the  complete  works  of  Vives  in  this  Valencian  edition  is  : 
Joannis  Liidovici  Vivis  Va/entini  Opera  Omnia,  distribitta  et  ordinata  in 
Argumentorum  Classes  praecipuas  a  Greg07-io  AIaja)Jsio...Item  Vita  Vivis 
Scripta  ab  eodem  Majansio...Valentiae  Edetanornin,  This  eight-volumed 
edition  of  1782  constitutes  the  real  basis  of  all  later  enquiries  into  the  life 
and  works  of  Vives.  References  in  this  Introduction  to  Mvis  Opera  are  to 
this  edition. 

^  Mhnoire  sur  la  Vie  et  les  Merits  de  /eati- Louis  Vivh.  In  M^moires 
couronnh  par  P  Acadimie  royale  dcs  Sciences  et  Belles- Lettres  de  Bruxelles. 
Tome  XV.  Premiere  Partie  1840-41.     Bruxelles:  M.  Hayez,  1841. 

2  Luiz  Vives.  Notes  biographiques.  Un  Mot.  In  La  Flandre,  Rcznie 
des  Monuments  cT Histoire  et  cT Antiquit^s.  Bruges:  Daveluy,  1876. 
Vanden  Bussche  brings  together  every  fact  ascertainable  from  the  thorough 
investigation  of  civic  documents  at  Bruges,  with  regard  to  the  residence 
there  of  Vives,  who  was  a  citizen  of  public  spirit,  as  we  shall  see,  of  whom 
the  city  is  justly  proud. 


Vives :   known  and  unknown  xix 

archiviste  de  I'Etat  at  Bruges  in  1876,  and  for  expository 
criticism  of  Vives'  works,  A.  Lange\  author  of  the  History 
of  Materialism,  in  1887.  In  these  writers  we  have  repre- 
sentative scholars:  Belgian,  Flemish,  and  German,  with  one 
Spaniard  beginning  and  another  at  the  end  of  the  series. 
Many  others  have  written  longer  or  shorter  accounts  of  Vives, 
or  of  his  works',  and  have  made  selections  of  the  educational 
portions,  but  Nameche,  Vanden  Bussche  and  Lange  went  to 
the  original  sources  of  knowledge,  and  came  back  with  the 
richest  harvests. 

Attention  was  drawn  in  the  19th  century  to  the  significant 
pedagogical  aspects  of  the  Spanish  scholar's  works'  by  Karl 
von  Raumer^,  who  was  the  first  to  make  Vives  generally  known 
as  an  educationist  in  Germany. 

'  Lange's  monograph  on  \'ive.s  appeared  as  an  article  in  the  Encyklo- 
pddie  des  gesatnmten  Erziehimgs-  und  Unterrichiswesens,  herausgegeben 
von  Dr  K.  A.  Schmid  und  Dr  W.  Schrader  (1887),  Band  ix.  Abteilung  III. 
pp.  776-851.     Leipzig:   Fues's  Verlag. 

-  The  following  editions  of  Selected  Works  of  Vives  include  translations 
into  German  of  the  Latin  text  of  the  de  Tradendis  Disciplhiis. 

188 1.  Dr  Rudolf  Heine,  foh.  Ltidwig  Vives.  Ausgezvdhlte  Pddago- 
gische  Schriften  [with  comprehensive  notes].  Leipzig:  Siegismund  und 
Volkening.  Band  xvi.  Padagogische  Bibliothek,  herausgegeben  von 
Karl  Richter. 

1883.  Dr  Jacob  Wychgrani:  Johaiin  Ludwig  Fives'  Ausgervdhlte 
Schriften.     Wien  and   Leipzig :    R.    Pichler's  Witwe   und  Sohn. 

1896.  Dr  Friedrich  Y^aysex :  fokannes  Ludovicus  Vives  Padagogische 
Schriften.  In  the  Bibliothek  der  Katholischen  Pddagogik.  Herausgegeben 
von  F.  X.  Kunz,  Band  viil.  Freiburg  im  Breisgau  :  Herdersche  Verlags- 
handlung.  I  gratefully  acknowledge  help  from  these  editions  at  different 
points  of  my  text.  I  have  also  found  very  useful  the  excellent  treatise  by 
Franz  Kuypers :  Vives  in  Seiner  Pddagogili.  Leipzig:  Teubner,  1897. 
Apparently,  Vives'  de  Tradendis  Disciplinis  has  not  been  translated  into 
any  language  except  German,  not  yet  even  into  Spanish. 

"  Geschiclite  der  Pddagogik,  von  VViederatifbliihen  klassisclier  Studien 
bis  aif  unsere  Zeit.  Vol.  I.  appeared  in  1842  and  the  second  in  1843. 
This  work  is  still  of  considerable  value  for  the  student  though  the  latest 
edition  was  issued  in   1879. 

bi 


XX  Iiih'oditction 

The  re-discovery  of  Vives  affords  an  interesting  example  of 
the  service  which  the  study  of  the  history  of  education  has 
rendered  to  the  history  of  general  literature.      It  is  true  that 
Nameche  published  his  account  of  Vives  in  1841,  a  year  before 
Raumer's  History  of  Pedagogy  appeared.     But  it  was  Raumer 
who  first  made  clear  to  the  19th  century  the  influence  exercised 
by  Vives   on    Francis   Bacon,  and   many  later  educationists. 
Henry  Barnard  in  the  United  States  of  America  translated  into 
English  to  American  educationists  Raumer's  high  opinion  of 
Vives,  and  Karl  Schmidt  developed  Raumer's  view  for  German 
readers,  and  lastly,  Lange  elaborately  did  full  justice  to  the 
subject.     The  study  of  the  history  of  education  is  only  begin- 
ning to  justify  itself  in  the  general  history  of  literature.     One 
outstanding  instance  is  the  position  now  conceded  to  Vittorino 
da  Feltre,  won  for  the  great  humanist,  in  the  modern  perspec- 
tive of  historical  accounts  of  the  Renascence,  by  the  devoted 
labours  of  Carlo  de'  Rosmini,  Sabbadini,  Paglia,  Luzio,  and  our 
own  Professor  W.  H.  Woodward.     In  the  case  of  Vittorino,  as 
soon  as  the  facts  were  known,  it  was  felt  that  such  a  command- 
ing personality  in  the  field  of  education  passed   beyond  the 
mere  territory  of  sectional  claims  into  the  broader  highway  of 
human  greatness,  and  although  Vittorino  wrote  no  "monument 
of  literature,"  no  historian  of  the  development  of  Renascence 
culture  is  likely  in  the  future  to  overlook  the  influence  of  the 
great  educationist.     So  with  Vives.     Since  Raumer  introduced 
him  to  the  historians  of  general  literature  and  culture,  he  has 
won  an  entrance  again  to  the  attention  of  those  interested  in 
the  steps  by  which  modern  letters  and  culture  were  developed. 
What  his  place  will  be  as  the  20th  century  perspective  of  the 
1 6th  century  revival    of  letters  comes  to    be   more   fully  re- 
shaped, it  is  difficult  to  say.     It  is  not  improbable  that  he  will 
rank   in   new  re-constructions   of  learning  and  culture  at  the 
beginning  of  the  i6th  century,  at  least  higher  relatively  to  that 
century  than  even  Vittorino  to  the  15th.      For  like  Vittorino 
he  is  revealed  by  the  facts  with  which  laborious  research  has 


Vives :    knoiun  and  imkiunvu  xxi 

provided  us,  as  a  commanding  and  attractive  personality,  though 
with  great  differences  in  detail  from  that  of  Vittorino.  Both  of 
them  have  characteristics  that  admit  them  not  only  amongst 
the  great  educationists,  but  also  amongst  the  large-minded 
humanists  in  both  thought  and  life,  who  transcend  the  limits 
of  their  specialised  occupation. 

Vives,  as  a  writer,  has  indeed  been  ranked  high.  A  Spanish 
literary  authority  has  regarded  him  in  power  of  intellect  as  the 
equal  of  ^Descartes  ^,  J.  Andres"  says  that  he  regards  tKe 
de  Disciplinis,  the  chief  work  on  education  of  Vives,  as  "a  great 
marvel  of  learning,  sound  understanding  and  right  judgment 
at  the  beginning  of  the  i6th  century  as  the  Organum  of  Bacon 
was  at  the  beginning  of  the  17th  century."  This  suggests  the 
question  of  the  relation  of  Bacon  to  Vives,  to  which  reference 
will  be  made  in  this  Introduction.  These  suggestions  of  the 
equality  of  later  with  earlier  thinkers  must  always  have  an 
unreality  about  them,  since  the  accumulated  national  experience 
of  a  later  century,  together  with  differences  of  country  and 
traditions  and  of  training  make  the  comparison  extremely 
difficult^  I  shall  not  attempt  an  answer  to  the  problems 
of  superiority  thus  raised,  but  content  myself  with  the  observa- 
tion that  it  is  sufficiently  remarkable  that  Vives  foreshadowed 
so  much  of  what  became  the  distinctive  lines  of  later  scientific 
progress. 

1  Senor  Castelar,  whose  opinion  is  quoted  by  Massebieau,  Les  Colloqties, 
p.  166. 

2  DelP  Origine,  progressi  e  slato  atltiak  iPogtii  Lelhrattira,  Parma  1785, 
Vol.  I.  p.  394. 

3  As  a  matter  of  speculation,  it  would  perhaps  bring  out  the  problem 
of  relativity  more  clearly  if  the  suggestion  had  been:  How  would  Bacon, 
or  Descartes,  compare  with  Vives,  if  we  attempt  to  read  away  from  their 
writings,  all  the  intervening  experience  with  which  the  former  two  started 
as  an  advantage  over  Vives.  It  is  obviously  unreasonable  to  expect  that 
the  earlier  writer  could  by  intuition  acquire  a  forecast  of  the  subject-matter 
of  the  scientific  inquiries  and  accumulation  of  knowledge,  which  was 
entered  into  as  a  birthright  by  the  later  writers. 


xxii  Introduction 

There  is  one  question  of  less  startling  speculation,  perhaps, 
than  the  comparison  of  Vives  with  Bacon  or  with  Descartes,  for 
it  is  one  which  happily  can  be  solved  with  actual  certainty — viz. 
What  was  the  position  of  Vives,  in  his  own  century,  in  the 
opinion  of  his  contemporaries  themselves?     This  question  is 
of  far  more  significance  than  might  appear,  at  the  first  glance, 
because  later  centuries  have  taken  upon  themselves  to  settle 
the  relative  positions  of  men  of  letters  at  the  Revival  of  Learn- 
ing quite  differently   from,  and  often  without  regard  to,  the 
intuitive    judgments    of    the   contemporary    scholars.       Later 
literary  judgments  may  be,  indeed  ought  to  be,  far  weightier 
than  those  of  earlier  times.     But  this  proposition  will  not  hold 
for  judgment  in  which  personality  is  a  large  factor.     The  com- 
parison of  personalities  at  a  date  long  removed  from  the  time 
at  which  the  men  concerned  were  living,  often  foregoes  none 
of  the  assertiveness  which  characterises  the  judgments  on  con- 
crete achievements,  either  on  canvas  or  on  paper,  which  are 
handed  down  to  posterity.     Tradition  quickly  stereotypes  the 
orthodox  view,  and  reputations  are  established  as  fixed,  when  a 
judgment  has  once  become  current,  whether  the  grounds  on 
which  it  was  based  were  completely  determined,  or  not.    Thus, 
when  we  hear  that  Vives  was  born  in  1492  and  died  in  1540, 
we  realise  that  he  was  living  at  the  same  time  as  Erasmus,  who 
was  born  in   1466  and  died  in   1536.     We  congratulate  our- 
selves on  being  able  to  place  a  mark  on  him  by  saying,  "He 
lived,  then,  in  the  Age  of  Erasmus."     Accordingly,  Vives  may 
simply  get  dismissed  from  remembrance  because  he  lived  in 
the  x^ge  of  Erasmus.     Erasmus  is  well  known  (as  a  name)  and 
may  easily  absorb  all  the  modern  interest  that  can  be  spared 
for  "his  Age."    If,  however,  free  from  prejudice,  we  ask:  What 
did  his  contemporaries  think  of  Vives?  we  can  readily  find 
answers.     Sir  Thomas  More,  himself  one  of  those  charming 
personalities,  whose  opinion  on  men  and  affairs  of  his  times, 
appeals  with  more  weight,  perhaps,  than  that  of  any  man  of  the 
Court   of  Henry  VHI,   wrote  to   Erasmus,    in   15 19,    that   a 


Vives :    known  and  itnknown  xxiii 

visitor  from  Louvain  had  shown  him  some  works  of  Luis 
Vives  "than  which  I  have  not  seen  for  a  long  time  anything  so 
elegant  and  learned.  How  few  you  will  find,  nay  rather,  you 
will  scarcely  find  one,  anywhere  at  so  green  an  age  (for  you 
state  that  he  is  still  young^)  who  has  mastered  so  completely 
the  whole  round  of  knowledge.  Certainly,  my  Erasmus,  I  am 
ashamed  of  myself  and  of  others  with  like  advantages,  who  take 
credit  to  ourselves  for  this  or  that  insignificant  booklet,  when 
I  see  a  young  man  like  Vives  producing  so  many  well  digested 
works,  in  good  style,  and  with  such  learning  in  the  back- 
ground. It  is  a  great  accomplishment  to  be  polished  in  one 
of  the  classical  languages.  He  proves  himself  a  drilled  scholar 
in  both.  But  it  is  a  greater  and  more  fruitful  achievement  to 
be  well  versed,  as  he  is,  in  the  highest  branches  of  knowledge. 
Who  is  there,  in  this  one  respect — who  surpasses  Vives  in  the 
number  and  quality  of  his  studies  ?  But  what  is  most  admir- 
able of  all  is,  that  he  should  have  acquired  all  this  knowledge 
so  that  he  may  be  able  to  communicate  it  to  others,  by  way  of 
instruction.  And  who  instructs  with  more  clearness,  with  more 
pleasure,  or  with  more  success  than  Vives?" 

To  this  letter  of  More,  Erasmus  returns  the  answer:  "As  to 
the  ability  of  Ludovicus  Vives,  I  rejoice  that  my  estimate  of 
him  agrees  with  yours.  He  is  one  of  the  number  of  those  who 
ivill  overshadow  the  name  of  Erastniis'^.  There  is  no  one  to 
whom  I  am  better  inclined,  and  I  love  you  the  more,  since  you 
are  attracted  to  him  so  sincerely.  He  has  a  wonderfully 
philosophical  mind.  He  despises  courageously  that  goddess 
to  whom  all  offer  sacrifice  though  few  propitiate  her.  Yet  he 
is  of  such  ability  that  fortune  cannot  neglect  to  reward  such 
literature  as  his.  No  other  man  is  more  fitted  to  utterly  over- 
whelm the  battalions  of  the  dialecticians  in  whose  camps  he 
served  for  a  long  time." 

^  Vives  was,  at  the  time,  27  years  of  age. 
"^  Erasmi  Epistolae,  col.  642  C  {1642  ed.). 


xxiv  Introduction 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  on  the  continent,  the  con- 
temporary judgment  of  More  and  Erasmus  on  Vives  was 
reinforced  in  the  course  of  the  i6th  century  by  scholars  of 
the  highest  rank.  Andreas  Schott\  of  Antwerp,  the  friend  of 
Isaac  Casaubon,  a  hundred  years  later,  found  and  confirmed 
the  rank  of  Vives  as  a  member  of  the  Triumvirate  in  the 
Republic  of  Letters  of  the  beginning  of  the  i6th  century,  of 
which  the  other  members  were,  in  his  opinion,  Erasmus  and 
Budaeus.  Schott's  account  is  (and  it  apparently  was  the 
accepted  judgment  of  the  time)  that  of  the  Triumvirate  thus 
acknowledged,  Budaeus  held  the  palm  in  mental  ability, 
Erasmus  in  literary  resource  of  expression,  and  Vives  in  the 
soundness  of  his  judgment".  The  high  rank  of  Vives  was  thus 
emphasised  in  his  own  age,  and  maintained  in  the  following 
century. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  i8th  century  we  can  refer  to  the 
literary  judgment  of  D.  G.  Morhof,  who  says,  on  the  subject 
of  the  training  of  good  minds,  that  Vives  produced  his  praise- 
worthy books — not  only  the  Transmission  of  Knojcdedge  {de 
Tradendis  Discipti/iis)  but  also  the  Causes  of  ttie  Corruptions 
of  ttie  Arts  {de  Causis  Corruptarum  Artium).  He  adds  that 
"these  are  distinctly  golden  books  full  of  good  fruit — and 
ttiey  stiould  be  most  diligently  read  by  all  learned  t>ien." 

Towards  the  end  of  the  i8th  century  (viz.  between  1782 
and  1790)  came  the  splendidly  produced  edition,  already 
mentioned,  of  the  Opera  Omnia  of  Vives •'.  We  thus  see  that 
Vives  was  held    in    high   recognition,  contemporaneously  by 

^   In  the  De  Bibliothecis  et  claris  Hispaniae  viris,  1608. 

^  Not  content  with  a  critical  statement  as  to  the  Triumvirate  of 
Budaeus,  Erasmus  and  Vives,  Schott  emphasises  the  juxta-position  of  the 
names  by  Latin  verses  to  celebrate  the  literary  powers  of  the  Triumvirate. 
Majansius'  Life  of  Vives,  Vivis  Opera,  i.  p.  41. 

*  This  does  not,  however,  include  Vives'  Commentaries  on  8t  Augus- 
tine's De  Civitate  Dei,  nor,  as  had  been  originally  intended,  the  translations 
of  certain  of  his  works  into  Castilian.  The  first  collected  edition  of 
Vives'  works  was  published  in  two  folio  volumes  at  Basle  in  1555. 


Vives  :    known  and  unknown  xxv 

More  and  Erasmus;  in  the  17th  century  by  Andreas  Schott  ; 
in  the  i8th  by  Morhof,  and  the  splendid  devotion  of  Gregory 
^[ajans,  in  the  re-issue  in  noble  form  of  his  works.  These 
tributes  to  Vives  must  be  regarded  as  typical ;  they  could  be 
supplemented  by  many  notices  from  others,  of  shorter  length, 
or  from  less  important  writers,  or  of  less  conspicuous  praised 

Two  facts  call  for  notice  in  the  history  of  opinions  concerning 
Vives.  First,  in  spite  of  the  issue  of  the  monumental  eight- 
volumed  edition  of  the  Opera  Omnia  (1782-90),  there  was 
later  a  clearly-marked  lull,  if  not  almost  to  be  called  collapse", 
of  interest  in  Vives,  until  the  rediscovery  of  him  by  Nameche, 
Vanden  Bussche,  and  Lange.  The  complete  works  of  A'ives  in 
the  1555  edition  had  no  doubt  become  scarce,  but  the  1782-90 
edition  might  have  been  expected  to  create  a  greatly  increased 
attention  to  Vives.  This,  however,  was  not  the  case.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  19th  century  he  almost  dropped  out  of  notice. 
The  explanation  probably  is  to  be  found  in  the  educational 
influences  connected  with  the  French  Revolution.  The  world 
entered  into  a  new  economic  and  educational  order,  not  less 
than  into  a  revolution  of  political  ideas.  Without  doubt  the 
old  educational  thinkers  who  had  survived  to  the  second  half 
of  the  1 8th  century,  let  us  say,  John  Milton  or  John  Locke,  in 
England  ;  or  Rabelais  and  Montaigne  in  France;  were  abso- 
lutely submerged  in  the  whirlpool  of  change.  The  old  serene 
aristocratic  atmosphere  which  these  writers  breathed  was  alien  to 
the  new  forces  which  irresistibly  forced  themselves  to  the  front. 

1  Bonilla  y  San  Martin  supplies  the  following  names  of  authors  who 
notice  the  works  of  Vives:  Pauljovius,  Francis  Swertius,  Possevin,  Schott, 
Baith,  Valerius  Andres,  Albert  Mireus,  G.  J.  Vossius,  Konigius,  Lipeniiis, 
Paul  Freher,  Moreri,  Pope-Blount,  Dupin,  Richard  Simon,  A.  Teissier, 
Johann  Fabricius,  Cave,  Baillet,  J.  G.  Walch,  Niceron,  J.  F.  Foppens, 
Brucker,  Paquot,  Dugald  Stewart,  Schwartz,«Von  Raumer,  etc.  Of  course 
even  such  a  list  is  not  really  comprehensive.  His  list  of  Spanish  writers 
who  held  Vives  in  honour  is  valuable,  since  the  point  might  have  been  over- 
looked by  non-Spanish  students,  had  he  not  supplied  it.    See  Bonilla,  p.  739. 

^  Except  for  a  few  publications  in  Spain,  of  secondary  importance. 


xxvi  l}ityodiictio7i 

The  new  circumstances  brought  about  a  new  national  self- 
consciousness,  new  economic  goals  and  starting-points.  And 
again,  in  England,  the  inventions  consequent  on  the  discovery 
of  the  significance  of  steam-power,  and  throughout  Europe  the 
new  ideas  of  Rousseau  of  "the  sovereign  power  of  the  people," 
and  of  the  State  as  "the  expression  of  the  general  will  of  the 
people  "  necessarily  turned  the  whole  emphasis  of  educational 
thought  to  the  democratic  centre,  to  the  problems  of  the 
education  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people— i.e.  to  primary 
education.  The  advocates  of  political  freedom  had  to  transfer 
their  attention  not  only  to  the  release  of  negro-slaves,  but  also 
to  the  employment  of  factory  children,  who  were  the  slaves  of 
a  combination  difficult  to  combat,  viz.  that  of  parents  joined 
with  employers.  The  value  of  the  educationist  to  society  was 
to  be  determined  by  the  practical  answer  he  could  give  to  the 
question:  When  the  child  is  emancipated  what  is  to  be  done 
with  him  ?  How  can  the  educationist  help  the  nation  to 
redeem  what  might  become  an  irresponsible  mob  into  a  well- 
disciplined  army  of  recruits  for  the  national  industrial  service. 
Educational  necessity  was  the  mother  of  educational  invention. 
Rousseau  supplied  the  French  Revolution  with  its  educational 
cry:  "Return  to  Nature^"  Pestalozzi,  Fellenberg,  Froebel,  all 
set  themselves  to  meet  the  new  democratic  conditions.  Men 
like  Lancaster,  Bell,  Robert  Owen,  in  England,  and  like-minded 
men  abroad,  helped  forward  the  arrangements  and  organisa- 
tions to  suit  the  new  order.  There  was  apparently  no  room 
or  time  for  the  old  educational  thinkers,  who  had  prescribed 
for  students  with  long  years  of  linguistic  preparation,  an 
encyclopaedia  of  knowledge  which  had  become  impossible. 
Locke  was  the  last  of  the  encyclopaedists,  and  even  he  had  had 

1  For  instance,  Rousseau  begins  his  Entile:  "Everything  is  good  as  it 
comes  from  the  hands  of  the  Author  of  Nature;  but  everything  degenerates 
in  the  hands  of  man."  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Vives  had  said:  "All 
things  in  this  world  as  they  were  made  by  God  are  good  and  beautiful" 
(P-  33)- 


Vives :   known  and  unknozvn  xxvii 

to  modify  his  position  by  adopting  a  utilitarian  standard  as  the 
test  for  each  subject  proposed  to  be  taught.  With  the  19th 
century  Locke  himself  had  become  exacting  beyond  the  limits 
of  patience.  The  educational  systems  which  had  prepared  the 
training  of  gentlemen,  as  well  as  those  which  sought  to  produce 
scholars,  were  obsolete,  or  nearly  obsolete.  They  went  under 
along  with  the  idea  of  the  old  aristocracy.  The  soul  of  educa- 
tional activity  and  thought  was  concentrated  on  the  quanti- 
tative aspect— How  can  one  man  teach  a  thousand  children  in 
the  same  room,  at  the  same  time  ?  That  was  quite  a  different 
kind  of  problem  from  what  had  been  considered  by  the  writers 
of  the  1 6th  and  17th  centuries.  In  the  new  era  of  democratic 
emergencies  those  educational  writers,  even  the  most  con- 
spicuous of  them,  were  lost  sight  of — Vives  amongst  the  rest. 
For  the  older  writers  kept  their  strained  vision  fixed  on  the 
qualitative  aspect — How  can  the  very  highest  educational 
results  be  achieved  under  the  most  favourable  of  conditions  ? 
The  problem  before  the  future  is:  How  to  unify  the  two  aspects, 
the  quantitative  and  the  qualitative  ?  The  impartial  study  of 
the  history  of  education  will  play  a  great  part  in  disciplining 
thought  on  this  problem. 

The  second  fact  which  perhaps  needs  explanation  in  con- 
nexion with  the  history  of  opinion  about  Vives  is  the  slight 
amount  of  notice  he  and  his  works  have  received  in  England, 
as  compared  with  the  rest  of  Europe.  This  is  the  more  re- 
markable since  between  1522  and  1528  Vives  spent  a  portion 
of  each  year  in  England,  either  in  Oxford  or  in  London, 
returning  to  Bruges  for  the  rest  of  the  year.  He  came  to 
England  under  the  aegis  of  not  only  Sir  Thomas  More,  but  also 
of  Mountjoy,  who  had  been  Erasmus'  pupil,  and  the  great 
Cardinal  Wolsey.  Moreover,  he  seems  to  have  been  in  receipt 
of  a  pension  from  both  King  Henry  VIH  and  from  Queen 
Catharine.  He  was  incorporated  as  Doctor  of  Laws  in  the 
University  of  Oxford  in  October,  1523,  and  lectured  success- 
fully in  that  University.     He  was  called  upon  by  the  Queen, 


xxviii  Introducfiou 

Catharine  of  Aragon,  his  fellow-countrywoman,  to  sketch  a 
course  of  study  for  her  daughter  Mary,  afterwards  Queen 
Mary  I,  a  child  in  her  eighth  year.  He  was  further  asked 
along  with  Linacre  to  direct  her  education.  He  dedicated  his 
work  on  the  education  of  women'  to  Queen  Catharine,  and  his 
Satellitittm  A/iimi  to  the  Princess  Mary.  Vives  was  warmly 
attached  to  mother  and  daughter — too  warmly  attached  to  make 
his  course  easy,  when  the  rupture  between  Henry  VI H  and 
Catharine  took  place.  The  events  connecting  Vives  with  the 
divorce-question  have  been  carefully  pieced  together"  by 
Mr  P.  S.  Allen,  who  says  :  "As  a  Spaniard,  Vives  naturally 
took  Catharine's  part.  In  February,  1528,  he  was  examined  by 
Wolsey  and  forced  to  reveal  the  substance  of  his  conversations 
with  Catharine.  After  being  kept  under  surveillance  six  weeks^ 
he  was  dismissed  from  the  Court,  and  returned  to  Bruges ;  and 
his  stipend  from  the  King  and  Queen  cut  off. 

"  It  does  not  appear  that  Vives  visited  England  again.  In 
January,  1531,  he  wrote  to  Henry  VIII  from  Bruges,  com- 
plaining that  he  had  received  no  pension  from  him  for  three 
years,  but  nevertheless  withstanding  him  manfully  about  the 
Divorce,  concerning  which  Henry  was  then  consulting  the 
Universities  of  Europe." 

Let  us  now  consider  further  events,  and  if  we  trace  them  in 
connexion  with  the  neglect  that  befell  Sir  Thomas  More  and 
his  Utopia  we  shall  be  prepared  to  find  that  Vives,  who  shared 
his  views,  and  in  addition  was  a  Spaniard,  a  fortioi-i  was  in 
long  continued  disgrace  and  neglect. 

In  July  of  the  year  1531,  Henry  abandoned  Catharine 
and  at  once  joined  himself  with  Anne  Boleyn.      In  1534,  the 

'  Dc  Iiislilutioiic  Feiiiiitac  Christianae.  The  dedication  is  dated 
April   5,    1523. 

-  In  the  Pelican  AVorrf  (Corpus  Christi  College,  Oxford),  Dec.  1902, 
p.  156  et  seqq.  The  account  is  founded  upon  the  Calendar  of  State 
Papers  (Domestic  Series). 

■*  See  letter  to  Juan  Vergara  quoted  p.  Ixxx  infra. 


Vives  :   knotvn  and  imknovju  xxix 

Pope  declared  the  marriage  of  Catharine  valid,  whereupon  an 
Act  of  Parliament  was  passed,  limiting  the  succession  to  the 
throne  to  the  offspring  of  the  marriage  with  Anne  Boleyn,  and 
making  it  high  treason  to  oppose  the  tenour  of  the  Act.     Sir 
Thomas  More  refused  to  conform  twice,  and  was  committed  to 
the  Tower.     Eventually  the  indictment  was  changed  to  that 
of  his  denial  of  the  Act  of  Supremacy,  and  on  July  6,  1535,  he 
was  put  to  death.     Vives'  attitude,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  was 
certainly  sympathetic  with  the  opposition  of  More  to  the  Act 
of  Succession,  which  repudiated  Catharine,  and  to  the  Act  of 
Supremacy,  which  repudiated  the  Pope.      It  stands  on  record 
that  it  was  accounted  treason  to  speak  of  More  as  a  martyr  1. 
During  the  whole  of  the  16th  century,  i.e.  during  the  reigns  of 
the  Tudors  (omitting  of  course  that  of  Mary),  it  was  dangerous  to 
speak  appreciatively  of  More,  and  when  the  despicable  French- 
man Nicholas  Bourbon  reviled  More's  memory  in   his  nasty 
Latin  epigrams.  Queen  Elizabeth  made  herself  the  poet's  special 
patroness-.     It  is  true,  in  the  Catholic  revival  of  Mary's  reign, 
More's  English  works  were  published -'.    But  on  the  other  hand, 
although,  as  the  learned  writer  oiPhilomorns  says,  we  find  "  Lives 
of  Sir  Thomas  More  in  almost  all  the  languages  of  Europe,"  none 
appeared  in  England  till  the  reign  of  Charles  I^     Similarly, 
More's  Utopia  was  under  a  cloud.    The  English  translation  by 
Ralph  Robinson'  ran  through  two  editions  in  1551  and  1556. 
The  third  edition  did  not  appear  till  1597  and  the  fourth  in 
1624.      The    Latin    editions   apparently   were    all    published 
abroad.     Finally,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  no  work  with 

'   See  Philomorns,  2nd  ed.  p.  255. 

^  Ibid.  p.  261. 

3  In  1537  by  Wm.  Rastell,  his  nephew. 

■*  This  was  the  life  by  Wm.  Roper,  his  son-in-law,  published  in  1627. 
Thomas  Stapleton,  the  Jesuit,  inchided  the  Ufe  of  More  in  the  Tres  Thomae 
(i.e.  Thomas  the  Apostle,  St  Thomas  a  Becket  and  Sir  Thomas  More) 
which  was  published  in  15S8,  but  abroad,  at  Douai. 

°  Robinson  was,  like  Vives,  associated  with  Corpus  Christi  College, 
Oxford. 


XXX  Introduction 

anything  like  the  originality  and  stimulus  to  thought  of 
the  Utopia,  at  home  or  abroad,  written  as  early  as  15 16, 
counted  for  so  little  in  England  during  the  period  of  the  great 
Elizabethan  and  Jacobean  writers. 

If  the  memory  of  More,  with  his  Utopia — the  most  dis- 
tinctively noble  work  on  social  philosophy  of  the  century — was 
sacrificed  to  Tudor  hostility,  there  is  little  cause  for  wonder  that 
Vives  suffered  also  in  England.  For  Vives  was  a  Spaniard, 
and  Spain  was  above  all  dreaded  as  the  foremost  country  in 
Europe  and  in  South  America,  and  came  into  collision  with  us  on 
the  high  seas — of  the  Atlantic,  as  our  chief  competitor — in  the 
race  for  adventure  and  for  wealth.  Spain  was  the  foe,  which 
at  the  time  of  the  marriage  of  Philip  and  Mary  seemed  not 
unlikely  to  absorb  us.  Actual  dread  was  removed  by  the  defeat 
of  the  Spanish  Armada,  but  fear  was  alchemised  into  a  source  of 
bitter  enmity  against  the  defeated  foe,  both  on  account  of  the 
methods  of  diplomacy  employed  and  the  standing  feud  of 
religion.  Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that  with  the  growth  of  a 
great  national  literature,  the  need  of  further  reliance  upon  the 
old  great  republic  of  Latin  letters  was  diminishing.  Roger 
Ascham  and  Richard  Mulcaster  made  bold  to  write  on  education 
in  the  English  language.  The  claim  was  proudly  made  by  the 
latter  that  no  language  "be  it  whatsoever,  is  better  able  to 
utter  all  arguments"  than  the  English  language. 

The  Tudor  unrelenting  triumph  over  the  friends  of  Catharine 
of  Aragon,  and  the  evolution  of  hatred  against  Spain,  together 
with  the  growth  of  English  as  a  vehicle  for  educational 
writing,  all  helped  to  crowd  out  in  absorbing  counter-interests 
any  attention  to  the  Spanish  Vives.  Yet  it  would  be  a 
mistake  to  suppose  that  though  there  was  but  little  open 
recognition  of  Vives,  that  his  influence  was  therefore  unfelt. 
Authors  on  subjects  treated  by  Vives  did  not  hesitate  to  read 
him,  to  profit  by  him,  and  to  use  his  ideas,  and  oftentimes, 
his  very  words,  but  without  disclosing  the  source  of  their 
inspiration.  , 


Vives  :   knoivn  and  unknown  xxxi 

One  conspicuous  example  has  recently  been  carefully 
elaborated,  though  not  indeed  intended  to  serve  as  an  illustra- 
tion of  the  influence  of  Vives,  but  simply  as  the  statement  of 
the  result  of  an  investigation  into  the  sources  of  a  prose  work 
of  one  of  the  great  Elizabethan  dramatists — the  curiously-named 
Timber  or  Discoveries  of  Ben  Jonson.  To  M.  Castelain  is  due 
the  announcement  in  detail  of  Jonson's  indebtedness  to  Vives^ 
Mr  Percy  Simpson,  in  England,  independently  has  made 
the  same  discovery'.  "All  that  I  can  now  attempt,"  says 
Mr  Simpson,  "is  to  indicate,  by  reference  rather  than  quotation 
— for  I  should  not  know  where  to  stop — Jonson's  debt  to  the 
great  humanist,  Johannes  Ludovicus  Vives."  One  of  the 
sections  noted  by  Mr  Simpson  as  borrowed  by  Jonson  from 
Vives  is  the  following  passage  in  which  Jonson  says  : 

"Wisdom  without  honesty  is  mere  craft  and  cozenage.  And 
therefore  the  reputation  of  honesty  must  first  be  gotten,  which 
cannot  be  but  by  living  well.    A  good  life  is  a  main  argument." 

This  passage,  characteristic  of  Vives'  view  of  life,  occurs 
amongst  the  pages  of  the  text  of  Jonson's  Timber  (Schelling's 
edition  pp.  5,  6)  and  the  two  pages  are  identified  by  both 
M.  Castelain  and  Mr  Simpson  as  a  free  translation  of  a  part 
of  one'  of  Vives'  smaller  works. 

A  further  passage  in  the  Timber^  which  begins  a  long 
section    of  Schelling's   edition    (pp.    59-66),    is    taken    from 

■  1  M.  Castelain  has  enquired  into  the  origins  of  Ben  Jonson's  Timber 
with  characteristic  care  and  thoroughness.  He  prints  Jonson's  English 
passages  side  by  side  with  the  Latin  prototypes  in  Vives.  The  parallels 
are  close  and  sustained  in  long  passages. 

2  In  an  article  entitled:  "  I'anquam  Explorator":  Jonson's  method  in 
the  Discoveries,  in  the  Modern  Language  Review,  Vol.  11.  (1907),  pp.  201- 
10. 

^  The  de  ConsuUalione  was  composed  by  Vives  at  Oxford  in  1523.  It 
was  written  at  the  suggestion  of,  and  dedicated  to,  Ludovicus  a  Flandria, 
dominus  Pratensis.  For  the  Latin  of  the  whole  section  in  Vives  see  Vivis 
Opera  (Majansius'  ed.  II.  pp.  244-8),  or  in  M.  Castelain,  Jonson's 
Discoveries,  pp.  7-9. 


xxxii  fiih'oducdou 

another  of  Vives'  works.  I  only  give  the  first  few  sen- 
tences : 

"Speech  is  the  only  benefit  man  hath  to  express  his  excel- 
lency of  mind  above  other  creatures.  It  is  the  instrument  of 
society.  In  all  speech,  words  and  sense  are  as  the  body  and 
soul.  The  sense  is  as  the  life  and  soul  of  language  without 
which  all  words  are  dead.  Sense  is  wrought  out  of  experience, 
the  knowledge  of  human  life  and  action,  or  of  the  liberal 
arts,  which  the  Greeks  call  'EyKUKAoTraiSeiav.  Words  are  the 
people's,  yet  there  is  a  choice  of  them  to  be  made  ;  for  verborum 
delectus  origo  est  eloqitentiae.  They  are  to  be  chose[n]  according 
to  the  persons  we  make  speak,  or  the  things  we  speak  of^" 

"■A^atura  non  effoeta.  I  cannot  think  Nature  is  so  spent 
and  decayed  that  she  can  bring  forth  nothing  worth  her  former 
years.  She  is  always  the  same,  like  herself;  and  when  she 
collects  her  strength  is  abler  still'-.  Men  are  decayed,  and 
studies  :  she  is  not^." 

'•'•  N'on  fiitnium  credeiidiim  antiquitati.     I  know  nothing  can 

'  V'ives,  de  Ratione  diccndi,  Majansius'  ed.  n.  pp.  94-5.  The  Latin  of 
Vives  is  as  follows  : 

"Materia  hujus  artis  est  sermo,  et  haec  utique  mutuata,  non  propria: 
finis  bene  dicere;  artificis  autem  explicare  quae  sentiat,  aut  persuadere 
quae  velit,  aut  motum  animi  aliquem  excitare,  vel  sedare.  In  sermone 
omni  sunt  verba  et  sensa  tamquam  corpus  et  animus.  Sensa  enim  mens 
sunt,  et  quasi  vita  verborum ;  ideo  etiam  mens  et  sensus  vulgo  nomi- 
nantur.  Inanis  ac  mortua  res  sunt  verba  sensu  amoto;  verba  autem 
sedes  sunt  sensorum,  et  veluti  lumina  in  tantis  nostrorum  animorum  invo- 
lucris.  Sed  neque  sensa  tamen  neque  verba  hujus  sunt  instituti,  non  magis 
quam  sermo:  quippe  sensa  ex  singulis  artium  petuntur,  aut  ex  prudentia  et 
vita,  nempe  ilia,  quam  Graeci  eyKUKXawaideiav  appellant :  verba  sunt  populi 
publica,  nullius  artis,  aut  privati  juris.  Aptatio  tamen  turn  verborum, 
tum  sensuum,  quomodo  cuique  fini  applicabuntur,  hujus  sunt  propositi." 

2  Schelling's  ed.  p.  7.  Mr  A.  C.  Swinburne  notes  "as  in  the  production 
of  Shakespeare — if  his  good  friend  Ben  had  but  known  it."  "How  grand 
is  this  !"  is  the  remark  of  Mr  Swinburne  on  this  passage,  not  realising  that 
it  is  Vives  he  is  praising  ! 

*  Mr  Swinburne  says  of  these  words  :  "  Jonson  never  wrote  a  finer  verse 
than  that  [prose]  !  " 


Vives :   known  and  tmknoivn  xxxiii 

conduce  more  to  letters  than  to  examine  the  writings  of  the 
ancients,  and  not  to  rest  in  their  sole  authority,  or  take  all 
upon  trust  from  them,  provided  the  plagues  of  judging  and 
pronouncing  against  them  be  away;  such  as  are  envy,  bitter- 
ness, precipitation,  impudence  and  scurrile  scoffing.  For  [in 
addition]  to  all  the  observations  of  the  ancients,  we  have  our  own 
experience,  which,  if  we  will  use  and  apply,  we  have  better 
means  to  pronounce.  It  is  true  they  opened  the  gates,  and 
made  the  way  that  went  before  us,  but  as  guides,  not  com- 
manders :  JVon  domini  tiostri,  sed  duces  fuere.  Truth  lies  open 
to  all  ;  it  is  no  man's  several.  Patet  omnibus  Veritas ;  nonduni 
est  occupata.     Multum  ex  ilia,  etiam  futiiris  relictum  est." 

This  noble  passage  in  the  Timber  is  taken  direct  from 
Vives'   Preface  to  the  de  Disciplinis\     The    fact    that   such 

'  See  pp.  8-9  infra.  But  I  cannot  forbear  the  quotation  here  of  V^ives' 
Latin  text  (Majansius  ed.  vi.  pp.  6-7)  : 

"  Porro  de  scriptis  magnoruin  auctorum  existimare  multo  est  litteris  con- 
ducibilius,  quam  auctoritate  sola  acquiescere,  et  fide  semper  aliena  accipere 
omnia,  absint  modo  judicandi  et  pronuntiandi  pestes,  livor,  acerbitas, 
praecipitatio,  impudentia,  et  dicacitas  scurrilis ;  neque  enim  effoeta  est  jam 
vel  exhausta  natura,  ut  nihil  prioribus  annis  simile  pariat;  eadem  est 
semper  sui  similis,  nee  raro  tamquam  collectis  viribus  pollentior,  ac  poten- 
tior;  qualem  nunc  esse  credi  par  est  robore  adjutam  et  confirmatam,  quod 
sensim  per  tot  secula  accrevit.  Quantum  enim  ad  disciplinas  percipiendas 
omnes  aditum  nobis  inventa  superiorum  seculorum  aperiunt,  et  experientia 
tarn  diuturna?  ut  appareat  posse  nos,  si  modo  applicaremus  eodem 
animuni,  melius  in  universum  pronuntiare  de  rebus  vitae  ac  naturae,  quam 
Aristotelem,  Platonem,  aut  quemquam  antiquorum,  videlicet,  post  tam 
longam  maximarum  et  abditarum  rerum  observationem,  quae  novae  illis  ac 
recentes  adniirationem  magis  pariebant  sui,  quam  cognitionem  adferebant. 
Quid  ?  Aristoteles  ipse,  annon  superiorum  omnium  placita  convellere  est 
ausus  ?  nobis  examinare  saltern  ac  censere  nefas  erit  ?  praesertim  quod,  ut 
Seneca  sapienter  dicit,  Qui  ante  nos  ista  moverunt,  non  domini  nostri,  sed 
duces  sunt :  patet  omnibus  Veritas,  nondum  est  occupata :  multum  ex  ilia 
etiam  futuris  relictum  est."  The  further  passage  (see  p.  9  infra,  beginning: 
"I  do  not  profess  myself  the  equal  of  the  ancients... make  your  stand 
wherever  you  think  she  is")  taken  by  Jonson  in  the  Timber  Q^\i&  directly 
(with  omissions)  from  Vives,  receives  the  comment  from  Mr  Swinburne 
F.  W.  c 


xxxiv  Introduction 

passages  as  those  quoted  have  been  regarded  as  highly  sug- 
gestive and  significant  for  Jonson '  to  have  written,  shows  that 
the  ideas  of  Vives,  written  a  hundred  years  before,  could  be 
still  regarded  as  original  or  as  representative  of  the  best  pro- 
gressive thought  of  a  full  century  later.  It  might  be  doubted 
if  anything  more  eloquent  and  more  distinctive  was  written  by 
Francis  Bacon  himself-,  on  the  hopefulness  of  the  search  for 
truth  by  the  modern  thinker,  than  the  substance  of  the  last 
quoted  passage. 

Mulcaster  was  the  most  original  writer  on  education  in  the 
Elizabethan  era.  He  had  the  courage  to  acknowledge  Vives  on 
one  occasion.  Mulcaster  is  speaking  against  over-haste  in  the 
education  of  boys.  He  says:  "Among  many,  if  onely  Vives 
the  learned  Spaniard,  were  called  to  be  witness,  he  would  crave 
pardon  for  his  own  person,  as  not  able  to  come  for  the  gout, 
but  he  would  substitute  for  his  deputy  his  whole  twenty  books 
of  disciplines,  wherein  he  entreateth  how  they  [pupils]  came  to 
spoil  [i.e.  to  be  spoiled],  and  how  they  may  be  recovered. 
Lack  of  time,  not  onely  in  his  opinion,  but  also  in  whose  not  ? 
brings  lack  of  learning,  which  is  a  sore  lack,  where  it  ought  not 
to  be  lacking  ^" 

This  one  acknowledgment  of  Vives  is  to  Mulcaster's  credit. 
Yet  there  are  other  subjects  with  regard  to  which  Mulcaster  has 
received  high  commendation  for  originality  which  were  already 
en  hide/ice  in  Vives.  First,  the  vigorous  advocacy  of  the  claims 
of  the  vernacular.  This  important  factor  in  Vives'  pedagogy  I 
shall  consider  later  ^   Secondly,  the  suggestion  of  conferences  of 

that  it  would  "be  passed  over  by  no  eye  but  a  mole's  or  a  bat's."  This 
criticism  surely  would  have  been  as  sound  for  Vives  as  for  Jonson. 

^  Jonson  died  in  1637.  The  Timber  was  published  posthumously  in 
1 64 1.  Schelling  is  of  opinion  that  its  composition  belongs  to  the  last 
years  of  the  poet's  life. 

2  On  the  subject  of  Vives  as  the  pioneer  of  Bacon,  see  p.  ciii  et  seqq. 

^  Positions  (1581),  Quick's  Reprint,  p.  259. 

■*  See  p.  cxli  et  seqq. 


Vives :    known  and  unknown  xxxv 

the  teachers  of  each  school.  Mulcaster,  as  Parmentier^  has 
pointed  out,  developed  Vives'  idea,  and  suggested  conferences 
between  parents  and  neighbours,  between  teachers  and  neigh- 
bours, parents  and  teachers,  and  finally,  conferences  between 
teachers.  But  the  source  of  this  suggestion  is  apparently  to  be 
found  in  Vives".  "Four  times  a  year  let  the  masters  meet  in 
some  place  apart  where  they  may  discuss  together  the  nature 
of  their  pupils  and  consult  about  them."  Thirdly,  Mulcaster 
suggests  "our  school  places,... in  the  heart  of  towns  might 
easily  be  chopt  [changed]  for  some  field  situation,  far  from 
disturbance,  and  near  to  all  necessaries''." 

At  least  Mulcaster  refers  to  Vives,  but  in  the  case  of  Roger 
Ascham  it  is  probable  his  indebtedness  to  Vives  in  matters  of 
education  was  as  great  as  was  that  of  Mulcaster,  but,  apparently, 
there  is  no  more  acknowledgment  on  the  part  of  Ascham  in  the 
field  of  education,  to  Vives,  than  there  is  in  the  field  of  literary 
criticism  on  the  part  of  Ben  Jonson^.  The  parallels,  it  should 
be  said,  in  Ascham's  case,  are  not  so  much  verbal  as  material, 
and  it  might  therefore  be  that  they  are  accidental.  Still  the 
case  is  one  for  inquiry.  Vives  argues'^  that  the  wits  of  boys 
should  be  tested  before  they  are  committed  to  learning.  He 
says:  "When  a  father  has  many  sons,  let  him  not  destine  for 
study  any  one  he  likes  just  as  he  would  take  an  egg  from 
a  heap  to  boil  or  fry,  but  the  one  who  in  his  opinion  and  in 
that  of  his  friends  is  best  suited  for  study  and  erudition.  Some 
parents  ..send  to  school  those  boys  who  are  unfit  for  commerce 
or  war,  or  other  civil  duties,  and  order  them  to  be  taught,... and 

1  Jacques  Parmenlier :  Histoirc  de  r^ditcation  en  Angleterre,  p.  14. 
For  Mulcastei's  opinions  on  conferences  sq&  Positions,  Quick's  ed.  p.  -281. 

-  See  p.  62  infra. 

^  See  pp.  53-55  infra.  Milton. makes  very  similar  suggestions  to 
those  of  Vives,  for  his  Academy.     See  p.  cli  note^  infra. 

*  Schelling,  Saintsbury  and  A.  C.  Swinburne  (in  his  elaborate  apprecia- 
tion of  Jonson)  seem  to  have  overlooked  Vives  as  a  source  of  Jonson's 
views. 

"  See  p.  83  infra. 


xxxvi  fiiiroduciion 

they  devote  to  God  the  most  contemptible  and  useless  of  their 
offspring,  and  think  that  he  who  has  not  judgment  and  intellect 
for  the  smallest  and  most  trifling  matters  has  quite  enough  for 
such  great  duties."  Ascham  says,  in  the  same  strain  :  "For  if 
a  father  have  four  sons,  three  fair  and  well  formed  both  mind 
and  body,  the  fourth  wretched,  lame  and  deformed,  his  choice 
shall  be  to  put  the  worst  to  learning  as  one  good  enough  to 
become  a  scholar."  The  whole  subject  of  the  "choice  of  wits" 
as  developed  by  both  Ascham  and  Mulcaster,  is  parallel  to  the 
treatment,  at  length,  of  the  same  topic  in  Vives. 

The  comparison  of  quick  wits  with  slow  wits,  and  the  pre- 
ference on  the  whole  for  the  slow  wit,  and  distrust  for  precocity 
is  common  to  Vives  and  Ascham.  The  adaptation  of  the  master's 
methods  to  the  particular  individuality  of  each  pupil  is  empha- 
sised both  by  Vives  and  by  Ascham.  The  views  on  gentleness  in 
teaching  and  deprecation  of  severity  of  punishment  for  which 
Ascham  has  received  such  deserved  praise,  are  to  be  found  in 
the  spirit  of  Vives'  methods  of  treating  pupils  and  in  his  views 
on  punishment'.  They  recommend,  in  common,  the  student  to 
take  due  exercise  in  games  and  recreation  ;  Vives  adding  the 
suggestion,  that  the  deeper  studies  of,  say,  metaphysics,  call 
for  still  more  physical  exercise  than  the  simpler  subjects  of 
study.  Both  believe  that  the  early  training  in  good  conduct  is 
far  more  essential  than  the  early  acquisition  of  knowledge. 
Both  reduce  grammar  study  to  a  minimum  in  the  learning  of 
languages. 

It  is  possible,  of  course,  in  these  instances,  and  in  many 
others  which  might  be  added  to  them,  that  each  writer  came 
quite  independently  to  treat  on  these  subjects,  and  to  form  his 
own  opinion,  and  that  it  happened  by  chance  to  be  the  same 
in  the  two  writers.  Two  further  instances  remain  to  be  con- 
sidered, in  which  the  agreement  is  on  matters  much  more 
specialised  in  their  nature. 

There  is  no  method  of  learning  Latin  more  characteristically 
'  See  pp.  1 1 8-19  infra. 


Vtves  :    known  and  unknoivn         xxxvii 

treated  by  Aschani  than  his  system  of  Paper-books,  two 
for  translations,  one  to  contain  translations  into  English,  the 
second  to  contain  re-translations  back  to  Latin,  and  the  third 
to  contain,  under  certain  headings,  the  pupil's  collections  of 
instances  of  the  use  of  words,  phrases  and  expressions, 
and  grammatical  forms  found  in  his  reading  of  authors — 
properly  classified;  in  fact,  a  self-made  dictionary  of  words, 
phrases,  syntax,  and  memorabilia.  We,  in  our  days,  are,  of 
course,  accustomed  to  a  system  of  note-books,  and  it  may  seem 
that  this  is  another  of  the  devices  which  might  occur  to 
educational  thinkers  independently.  Yet  Ascham  has  re- 
ceived high  credit  for  the  idea,  and,  in  any  case,  the  suggestion 
of  the  plan  a  full  generation  earlier  involves  even  more  credit 
to  the  earlier  thinker,  'llieold  teaching  methods  of  the,^ 
Middle  Ages  were  oral,  and  the  change  to  writing  methods 
is  very  critical  in  the  history  of  education.  The  early  sug- 
gestion of  Paper-books  was,  therefore,  more  startling  than  we 
are  apt  to  realise.  Note-books  became  a  recognised  necessity, 
only  after  the  inventiorT  of  printing,  and  as  we  know  common- 
place books  developed  into  an  institution  with  the  scholars  in 
the  first  half  of  the  i6th  century.  Nevertheless  it  might  readily 
have  happened  that  Paper-books  for  pupils  might  have  been 
delayed  as  a  device  for  school  purposes,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
suggestion  of  enthusiastic  educationists.  For  written  methods 
were  revolutionary  ;  and  the  memories  of  schoolmasters  and 
boys  were  better  trained  than  in  modern  times.  School- 
masters, parents  and  boys  tended  to  conservative  methods, 
and  these  countenanced  the  learning  by  heart  of  intricate 
grammars,  such,  for  instance,  as  that  of  the  authorised  Lily,  even 
in  the  time  of  Ascham,  and,  in  prior  generations,  of  those  bar- 
barous and  effete  works  of  which  Erasmus  so  bitterly  complains, 
and  which  he  so  scathingly  satirises.  Such  methods  required 
no  use  of  note-books.     The  boldness  of  Ascham's  suggestion^ 

^  A  further  practical  objection  to  the  use  of  Paper-books  was  the  cost 
of  paper.     Sir  E.  M.  Thompson  says  paper  was  first  used  for  College  and 


X  X  X  V  i  i  i  In  trodruhon 

is  apparent,  when  we  realise  that  he  dares  to  dispense  with  the 
time-honoured  grammars,  and  merely  asks  for  the  "three  con- 
cords learned"  and  the  simple  declension  of  nouns  and 
conjugations  of  verbs  before  the  reading  of  authors.  Whatever 
may  be  in  store  for  the  twentieth  century,  it  is  perfectly  certain 
that  the  nineteenth  century  did  not  attain  to  the  attractive 
simplicity  of  this  idea  of  Ascham  of  dispensing  with  grammar 
books  and  setting  the  pupil  to  collect  the  accidence  and  syntax 
himself,  as  he  proceeds  in  his  reading  of  authors  and 
his  own  translation  and  re-translation,  and  of  building  up  a 
grammar  for  himself  in  his  Note-book.  Such  an  idea,  relatively 
to  the  cumbrous  methods  of  the  teaching  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
deserves  to  rank  high  as  a  discovery  in  language-teaching.  And 
Ascham  certainly  deserves  the  acclamation  of  all  teachers  for 
its  advocacy.  It  is  not  without  significance  for  his  adoption  of 
a  Note-book  method  that  Ascham  was  a  calligrapher.  At  any 
rate  he  emphasised  written  methods  in  the  pupil's  work  as  no 
one  had  done  in  England  before  him. 

But  all  the  more,  if  there  was  an  earlier  pioneer  in  this 
important  method  of  teaching,  we  must  be  prepared,  not  to 
withdraw  our  admiration  for  Ascham,  but  to  admit  Ascham's 
predecessor  to  a  similar  recognition,  and  to  that  further  con- 
sideration which  priority  of  advocacy  confers. 

Vives,  in  his  work  On  the  Trausmissmi  of  Know/edi^e  ( 1 531)', 
describes  in  more  systematic  and  realistic  detail  than  Ascham 
the  Paper-book  method,  and  delivers  his  soul  on  the  whole  art 
of  language  note-taking.     But  earlier  still',   in    1523,  he  had 

Municipal  Records  in  the  14th  century.  Tiie  first  manufactory  of  paper  in 
England  was  in  the  early  part  of  the  1 6th  century.  Paper  in  schools  had 
to  be  provided  at  the  cost  of  the  parent,  as  is  seen  in  the  Orders  for 
St  Albans  School,   1590. 

1  See  p.  loS  itifi-a,  beginning  1.  5,  "Let  them  be  convinced,"'  to  tiie  end 
of  the  second  paragraph  on  that  page. 

-  In  the  de  Ratiove  Sttidii  Puerilis,  dated  London,  1523.  dedicated  to 
Charles  Mountjoy,  son  of  William  Mountjoy,  the  pupil  and  friend  of 
Erasmus. 


Vives :   known  and  unknown  xxxix 

suggested  the  method  requiring  the  pupil  actually  to  construct 
for  himself  the  Paper-book  in  which  he  was  further  to  enter  his 
own  grammatical  collections.  Vives  gives  full  directions,  and 
as  this  is  appaently  the  first  mention  of  any  such  system,  the 
full  details  are  of  interest  : 

"Make  a  book  of  blank  leaves  of  a  proper  size.  Divide  it 
into  certain  topics,  so  to  say,  into  nests  (nidos).  In  one,  jot 
down  the  names  of  those  subjects  of  daily  converse,  e.g.  the 
mind,  body,  our  occupations,  games,  clothes,  divisions  of  time, 
dwellings,  foods ;  in  another,  rare  words,  exquisitely  fit  words ; 
in  another,  idioms,  and  fo7-midae  dicendi,  which  either  few 
understand  or  which  require  often  to  be  used;  in  another, 
sententiae;  in  another,  joyous  expressions;  in  another,  witty 
sayings;  in  another,  proverbs;  in  another,  difficult  passages  in 
authors;  in  another,  other  matters  which  seem  worthy  of  note 
to  thy  teacher  or  thyself  So  that  thou  shalt  have  all  these 
noted  down  and  digested.  Then  will  thy  book  alone  know  what 
must  be  read  by  thee,  to  be  read,  committed  and  fixed  to  the 
memory,  so  that  thou  mayest  bear  in  thy  breast  the  names  thus 
handed  down,  which  are  in  thy  book  and  refer  to  them  as  often 
as  is  necessary.  For  it  is  little  good  to  possess  learned  books 
if  your  mind  is  unfurnished  for  studying  them." 

And  in  1524,  Vives  wrote  on  the  same  subject : 

"Thou  shalt  have  alwayes  at  hande  a  paper  booke,  wherein 
thou  shalt  wryte  suche  notable  thynges  as  thou  readest  thy 
selfe,  or  hearest  of  other  men  worthi  to  be  noted,  be  it  other 
feate  sentence  or  worde,  meete  for  familiar  speeche,  that  thou 
mayest  have  in  a  redynes,  when  tyme  requyreth\" 

These  passages  establish  the  position  that  Vives  has  priority 

^  /iitrodiictio  ad  Sapientia/n,  Xniwet^,  1524.  This  was  translated  into 
English  by  Sir  Richard  iMoryson,  c.  1540,  as  An  Introduction  to  Wisdom. 
The  quotation  above  is  given  from  his  version  in  the  section:  "Of  the 
Mynde."'  The  Introduction  to  Wisdom  is  a  small  manual  for  the  student 
at  the  beginning  of  his  studies,  consisting  of  wise  and  moral  maxims  to  be 
kept  in  mind  by  all  who  devote  themselves  to  letters. 


xl  Introdnction 

over  Ascham  in  the  matter  of  Paper-books,  and  it  is  difficult  to 
believe  that  the  tutor  of  Queen  Elizabeth  was  not  aware  of 
Vives'  views.  For  Vives  had  been  the  tutor  of  the  Princess 
Mary,  the  half-sister  of  Elizabeth,  and,  as  we  have  just  seen, 
Vives  made  known  his  views  in  three  different  works. 

The  other  great  feature  of  Ascham's  method  of  teaching 
Latin  was  double  translation — i.e.  translation  from  a  Latin 
author  into  English,  followed,  after  an  interval,  by  re-translation 
from  the  English  back  into  Latin.  Vives  also  recommended 
double  translation'  but  in  the  reverse  order.  Passages  in  the 
vernacular  were  to  be  translated  into  Latin,  and  afterwards  re- 
translated into  the  vernacular.  Vives  wished  to  secure  that  the 
teacher  in  the  first  place  gave  the  pupil  passages  of  good 
vernacular-.  Good  Latin  was  actually  more  accessible,  e.g.  in 
Cicero.  Ascham  wished  the  boy  to  be  familiarised  with  Cicero, 
and  risked  the  sort  of  English  into  which  he  would  render 
Cicero,  and  from  which  he  would  re-translate.  The  fact  is  that 
each  system  requires  supplementing  by  equal  attention  from 
the  teacher,  in  providing  good  standards  for  both  the  Latin 
and  the  vernacular.  But  as  with  the  Paper-book,  so  with 
Double  Translation,  Vives  was  also  a  protagonist  before 
Ascham. 

Finally,  Ascham  refers  to  mediaeval  romances  in  terms  of 
deprecation  which  readily  recall  Vives'  attacks,  many  years 
earlier.  Ascham  introduces  the  subject  of  this  "  fayned  che- 
valrie"  both  in  the  Scholemasfer  a.x\A  in  the  Toxophilus.  Both 
Vives  and  Ascham  ascribe  the  pleasure  felt  by  the  readers  of 
these  romances  as  due  to  love  of  slaughter  and  of  licentious- 
ness.    But  Ascham  improves  the  occasion,    by  ascribing    the 

1  See  pp.  1 13-14  infra.  Samuel  Johnson  said  that  Ascham's  Schole- 
niaste7-  contains  "perhaps  the  best  advice  that  was  ever  given  for  the  study 
of  languages."    Yet  Ascham's  advice  is  mainly  the  same  as  that  of  Vives. 

2  There  is  no  doubt  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  vernacular  by  school- 
masters themselves,  in  England,  was  a  formidable  difficulty  in  teaching 
good  Latin  in  the  early  Tudor  period.     See  p.  cxiiii  infra. 


Vives  :    knoivn  and  unknown  xli 

composition  of  books  such  as  the  Morte  (V Arthur  to  "  idle 
monks  and  wanton  canons,  in  our  forefather's  time  when 
Papistry,  as  a  standing  pool,  covered  and  overflowed  all 
England."'  Vives,  on  the  other  hand,  attributes  their  vogue 
to  the  fact  that  their  readers  have  never  tasted  the  delights  of 
reading  Cicero,  Seneca  or  St  Jerome. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  if  Ascham  in  these  cases  did 
borrow  (or  as  "the  wise  term  it,  'conveyed'")  from  Vives,  the 
doctrine  of  Imitation  which  he  held,  justified,  or  rather  required, 
that  changes  should  be  made  in  the  "conveyance."  Imitation, 
according  to  Ascham^  (and  the  humanists  of  his  age)  consists 
not  only  in  similar  treatment  of  dissimilar  subject-matter,  but 
also  in  the  dissimilar  treatment  of  similar  subject-matter  {similis 
materiel  dissimilis).  If  Ascham  had  Vives  in  mind,  as  Erasmus 
clearly  had  when  he  dealt  with  amatory  stories  and  songs",  he 
carried  out  his  own  precepts  in  regard  to  Imitation,  not  by 
"conveying,"  in  the  exact  words,  but  by  the  use  of  the  similar 
subject-matter  of  Romances  and  their  evil  influence  on  sound 
living  and  sound  learning,  whilst  he  introduced  the  dissimilar 
treatment  of  ascribing  the  origin  and  development  of  the  evil 
to  Papistry  and  Abbeys  and  Monasteries,  and  also  obtained  in 
the  subject-matter  of  Romances  a  background  for  his  argument 
against  the  "books  made  in  Italy." 

It  is  perhaps  possible,  in  this  general  way,  without  entering 
into  further  details,  to  indicate  the  possible  grounds  for  the 
inclusion  of  Vives,  as  a  member  of  the  Triumvirate  of  letters  in 
the  early  part  of  the  i6th  century,  and  to  account  for  his 
decadence  in  estimation,  in  England,  in  the  later  part  of  the 
same  century.  He  paid  the  price  of  loyalty  to  Catharine  of 
Aragon,  in  his  lifetime  and  in  his  reputation  after  his  death. 

'   The  Scholcniaster  (Mayor's  ed.)  p.  139. 

-  In  the  de  Matrimoiiio  Christiaiio,  1526  (1650  ed.  p.  430).  For  the 
passages  on  Romance-reading,  by  \'ives,  see  Foster  Watson,  Viijes  and  the 
Renascence  Edzicadon  of  IVoi/ien,  pp.  58-9  and  196,  and  in  the  de  Causis 
Cormptartim  Artiufn,  at  the  end  of  Bk  11.  Majansius  ed.  vr.  p.  109. 


xlii  Introduction 

However  we  explain  such  facts,  it  is  clear  that  the  advocacy 
of  views  by  Vives  in  literary  criticism  and  on  education,  which 
have  brought  fame  and  distinction  to  Ben  Jonson  and  to 
Ascham  (and  I  take  those  as  typical  examples),  although  the 
latter  two  had  the  advantage  of  browsing  on  the  rich  pasturage 
bequeathed  by  the  whole  of  the  first  half  of  the  i6th  century, 
justifies  the  interest  in  asking  and  answering  the  question: 
Who  was  Vives  ? 


CHAPTER    II 

JUAN    LUIS   VIVES        )4^^-/-540 

V" 

By  birth,  Juan  Luis  Vives  was  a  Spaniard,  of  the  city  of  '^ 
Valencia.  TTe  received  his  school  education  at  Valencia,  and 
spent  his  college  life  in  the  University  of  Paris.  His  manhood 
was  spent  in  Louvain  and  Bruges,  chiefly  the  latter,  with, 
between  1522  and  1528,  portions  of  the  year  spent  in  residence 
in  England.  It  will  be  convenient  to  deal  with  the  formative 
influences  in  his  development  in  connexion  with  those  cities  in 
which  he  lived. 

(i)      Vh't's  at   Valencia. 

Vives  was  born  in  the  year  of  the  discovery  of  .\merica  by 
Columbus,  1492;  a  few  days  after  the  Moorish  Granada  fell 
into  the  hands  of  P'erdinand  and  Isabella.  His  father's 
Christian  name  was  also  Luis.  His  mother's  maiden  name 
was  Blanca  March.  He  was  baptised  in  the  Church  of 
St  Agnes,  a  church  which  still  remains  in  Valencia.  The 
house  in  which  he  was  born  is  described  by  Vives  himself. 
Vives'  father  was  sprung  from  an  old  Spanish  noble  family 
tracing  itself  to  the  branch  known  as  Vives  del  Vergel  or 
Verger".  The  arms  of  this  family  consisted  of  a  square  in 
the  azure  ground  of  which  there  rose  a  plant  of  golden-yellow 

^  In  the  School  Dialogues  {Excrcitatio  Latinae  Linguae,  1539)  one 
of  the  dialogues  entitled  Leges  Liidi,  with  the  sub-title  "  A  varied  dialogue 
on  the  city  of  Valencia,"  refers  to  the  house. 

^  Majansius  gives  an  elaborate  genealogy  of  Vives,  showing  the  nobility 
of  his  family.    See  Opera,  vol.  I.  immediately  before  the  beginning  of  the  life. 


xliv  Introduction 

colour'  which  the  Spaniards  call  Ferpetuas  or  Siempre  Vivas, 
and  the  French  inwwrtelles.  Vives'  mother,  Blanca  March, 
was  also  of  illustrious  descent,  and  proudly  claimed  several 
well-known  poets  amongst  her  ancestry.  Nevertheless  the 
parents  of  Vives  were  only  of  moderate  means.  They  were 
united  by  a  strong  tie  of  affection  which  is  worthily  recorded 
by  their  son' : 

"  My  mother  Blanche  when  she  had  been  fifteen  years 
married  unto  my  father,  I  could  never  see  her  strive  with  my 
father.  There  were  two  .sayings  that  she  had  ever  in  her  mouth 
as  proverbs.  When  she  would  say  she  believed  well  anything, 
then  she  used  to  say,  even  as  though  Luis  Vives  had  spoken 
it.  When  she  would  say  that  she  would  [wished]  anything, 
she  used  to  .say,  even  as  though  Luis  Vives  would  it.  I  have 
heard  my  father  say  many  times,  but  especially  once,  when 
one  told  him  of  a  saying  of  Scipio  Africanus  the  younger,  or 
else  of  Pomponius  Atticus,  and  I  ween  it  were  the  saying  of 
them  both,  that  they  never  made  agreement  with  their  mothers, 
'nor  I  with  my  wife  said  he,  which  is  a  greater  thing.'" 
The  son  tells  us  that  the  "  concord  of  Vives  and  Blanche  " 
became  a  proverb  in  Valencia.  But  with  the  reserve  charac- 
teristic of  filial  pietas  he  adds  :  "  But  it  is  not  to  be  much 
talked  of  in  a  book  made  for  another  purpose,  of  my  most 
holy  mother,  whom  I  doubt  not  now  to  have  in  heaven  the 
fruit  and  reward  of  her  pure  and  holy  living."  Yet  Vives 
treasured  up  in  his  thoughts  the  idea  of  writing  a  "  book  of 
her  acts  and  life-." 

'  In  the  Institution  of  a  Christian  Woman  (Hyrde's  translation), 
see  Foster  Watson,  Vives  and  the  Renascence  Education  of  Women,  p.  117. 

-  In  Vives"  Commentaries  on  St  Augustine,  de  Civitate  Dei  (translated 
by  John  Healey,  2ncl  ed.  1620),  p.  4.^9,  there  is  a  dictum  of  his  mother 
recorded  :  "  My  mother  Blanche,  a  modest  matron  (or  piety  deceives  me), 
had  wont  to  tell  me  when  I  was  a  child  that  the  sirens  sung  sweetly  in 
a  tempest  and  lamented  in  fair  weather  :  hoping  the  latter  in  the  first,  and 
fearing  the  first  in  the  later."  For,  Vives  oliserves,  happiness  is  far  better 
after  misery  than  misery  after  hap])iness. 


Juan  Luis  Vives  xlv 

It  has  indeed  been  said  that  in  Vives  is  to  be  marked  the  first 
appearance  in  modern  times  of  Hterary  tribute  by  a  scholar  to 
the  virtues  of  a  mother,  and  it  is  probable  that  we  should  have 
to  search  far  in  the  documents  of  the  Middle  Ages  to  find  the 
record  of  such  high  delight  in  recalling  a  mother's  influence. 
It  is  a  new  channel  or  at  least  a  much  deeper  channel  in  which 
the  humanist  elemental  joy  in  life  found  expression.  Whether 
Vives  was  the  first  of  the  humanists  to  dwell  on  the  theme  or 
not,  his  words  strike  home  in  their  sincerity. 

The  mother  who  took  pains  with  the  boy's  training  rather 
belonged  to  the  old  Roman,  or  even  Spartan,  type.  She  is 
thus  described  :  "  No  mother  loved  her  child  better  than  mine 
did  me,  nor  any  child  did  ever  less  perceive  himself  loved  of 
his  mother  than  I.  She  never  lightly  laughed  upon  me,  she 
never  cockered  me,  and  yet  when  I  had  been  three  or  four 
days  out  of  her  house,  she  wist  not  where,  she  was  almost  sore 
sick ;  and  when  I  was  come  home,  I  could  not  perceive  that 
ever  she  longed  for  me.  Therefore  there  was  no  body  that 
I  did  more  flee,  or  was  more  loath  to  come  nigh,  than  my 
mother  when  I  was  a  child.  But  after  I  came  to  young  man's 
estate,  there  was  nobody  whom  I  delighted  more  to  have  in 
sight ;  whose  memory  now  I  have  in  reverence,  and  as  oft  as 
she  cometh  to  my  remembrance,  I  embrace  her  within  my 
mind  and  thought,  when  I  cannot  with  my  body'." 

With  human  graciousness,  though  without  ecclesiastical 
sanction,  Vives  includes  his  mother  amongst  the  saints,  with 
Agnes,  Catharine,  Agatha,  Margaret,  Barbara,  Monica,  etc., 
"although,"  he  says,  "I  do  fear  to  be  reproved  that  I  do 
thus  commend  my  mother,  giving  myself  too  much  to  love 
and  pity,  the  which  truly  doth  take  much  place  in  me,  but — " 
he  eagerly  adds,  "yet  the  truth  much  more'"." 

^   Vives  and  the  Renascence  Education  of  Woineit,  p.  131. 

-  In  the  Office  and  Duties  of  an  //itsdand  {Thomas  Paynell's  translation 
of  Vives'  de  Officio  Mariti,  1529).  See  Foster  Watson,  lives  and  the 
Renascence  Education  of  Women,  p.  208. 


xlvi 


Introdiution 


Vives  was  to  become  the  pioneer  in  the  advocacy  of  the 
vernacular  as  the  instrument  of  education,  at  least  half  a 
century  before  Mulcaster.  How  far  the  rjleas  which  arose 
in  the  i6th  century  for  the  recognition  and  use  of  the 
vernacular  were  made  by  educationists  who  had  the  good 
fortune  to  be  well-trained  by  their  mothers,  in  the  early 
years,  would  be  an  interesting  inquiry.  But  we  are  left  in 
no  doubt  as  to  the  inspiring  cause  of  Vives'  interest  in  the 
mother-tongue,  and  his  belief  in  the  high  part  mothers  could 
accomplish  in  this  matter.  "Let  the  mother,"  he  says\  "give 
her  diligence,  at  leastwise  because  of  her  children,  that  she  use 
no  rude  and  blunt  speech,  lest  that  manner  of  speaking  take  such 
root  in  the  tender  minds  of  the  children,  and  so  grow  and 
increase  together  with  their  age,  that  they  cannot  forget  it. 
Children  will  learn  no  speech  better,  nor  more  plainly  express, 
than  they  will  their  mother's.  For  they  will  counterfeit  both 
the  virtue  and  the  vice,  if  there  be  any  in  it." 

In  connexion  with  his  own  Spanish  language,  Vives  recog- 
nises the  historical  importance  of  having  been  born  in  Valencia. 
He  notes  that  James  the  Conqueror,  the  king  of  Aragon, 
conquered  Valencia  in  1238,  delivering  it  from  the  Moors, 
and  introduced  into  it  men  from  Aragon  and  Lerida,  "  So 
the  children  that  came  from  them  both,  with  all  their  posterity 
kept  their  )iiothcrs  lan^^^uage,  ivhich  ive  speak  there  unto  this 
day'^."  Vives  was  writing  in  1523,  and  thus  for  nearly  three 
hundred  years  there  had  been  a  steady  development  of  the 
mother  tongue  in  the  city  of  Valencia,  and  self-defence  against 
the  Moors  made  it  a  matter  of  patriotism  to  take  a  pride  in  its 
use.  Circumstances  such  as  these  must  be  taken  into  account 
in  tracing  to  its  origin  Vives'  interest  in  the  vernacular  and 
the  advocacy  of  its  use  in  early  education,  together  with  inci- 
dental passages  showing  a  breadth  of  view  in  regard  to  the 
historical  study  of  the  vernacular,  and  its  employment  even  in 

^    Vives  and  the  Renascence  Education  oj  IVowen,  p.  124. 
-  /did.,  p.  124 


Juan  Luis  Vives  xlvii 

composition,  and  as  a  field  for  style',  altogether  foreign  to 
Erasmus  and  with  few  exceptions'-  to  the  other  humanists  of 
the  early  part  of  the  i6th  century. 

It  may  be  added  that  Vives  owed  his  love  of  the  Spanish 
language  to  his  mother  and  his  home,  and  not  to  the  public 
school  of  Valencia  to  which  he  went. 

This  school  {gymnasium)  had  been  restored  by  Pope 
Alexander  VI  in  1500  and  by  Ferdinand  the  Catholic  in 
1502^  There  is  a  description  of  the  school  itself  in  one  of 
Vives'  works"*.  It  is  always  of  value  to  consider  the  kind  of 
teachers  under  whom  an  important  man  has  studied  at  school. 

''■  See  on  the  relation  of  Vives  to  the  vernacular,  pp.  cxli-cxliy. 

■^  In  Spain  we  shall  see  directly  that  Antonio  de  Lebrija  favoured  the 
vernacular  ;  in  Italy  Bembo. 

^  Comprehensive  historical  notes  as  to  the  school  and  the  course  of 
instruction  in  it  are  given  in  Majansius,  p.  10  el  seqq.,  and  in  Bonilla  y 
San  Martin,  chap.  i. 

■*  The  Ovatio  Virghns  Alariae  (ist  printed  15 19)  in  Majansius'  ed. 
VII.  p.  127.  The  passage  is  spoken  in  the  name  of  Siso,  one  of  Vives' 
schoolmasters:  "There  is  a  place  at  the  first  entrance  into  the  schools 
which  becomes  easily  muddy  with  the  crowd  of  scholars  who  have  walked 
through  the  rain  and  the  dust.  When  you  have  got  over  this  a  little  you 
come  upon  a  high  flight  of  stairs,  which  lead  to  decorated  bedrooms,  and 
halls  in  which  teaching  is  carried  on.  It  is  very  well  provided,  as  I  hope, 
with  the  very  best  teachers  who  will  come  to  the  place.  The  forecourt  is 
often  somewhat  dark,  but  the  arcades  are  not  unpleasant.  There  is  a 
great  cerulean  stone  under  the  stair-case,  on  which  very  often  packmen, 
if  they  have  anything  new,  flock  together  to  sell  their  books,  as  if  they 
were  condemned  to  live  on  the  stone.  It  was  when  Daniel  reclined  on 
that  stone  that  Michael  Ariguus  and  Parthenius  Tovar  the  poet  came  to 
him,  for  the  latter  had  only  arrived  a  short  time  before,  from  Murviedro 
(Saguntum).  I,  at  that  time  only  a  youth,  used  to  follow  Parthenius  about. 
You  know,  Christophorus,  and  you,  Vives,  what  a  noble,  serious  and 
eloquent  poet  he  was,  not  much  inferior  to  that  poet  of  the  same  name 
whom  Tiberius  Caesar  suggested  was  worthy  of  imitation."  The  Ovatio 
contains  the  first  reference  in  Vives'  writings  to  Erasmus.  On  this  point, 
of  considerable  interest  in  the  history  of  the  relations  between  the  two,  see 
Lange  (in  Schmid  and  Schrader's  Encyklopcidie,  2nd  ed.  1887,  Band  ix., 
Abteilung  3,  p.  780,  and  Bonilla  y  San  Martin,  pp.  37  and  67). 


X 1 V  i  i  i  Introduction 

One  of  the  teachers  of  Grammar  at  the  Valencian  school  was 
Jerome  Amiguet,  who  is  described  by  Majansius^  as  notable 
in  his  barbarism  {insigniter  barbarus).  He  edited  the  Sinonima 
of  Stephen  Fliscus  in  1500.  Another  teacher  was  Daniel  Siso. 
He  had  written  in  1490  a  Comptndium  of  grammar  and  Vives 
calls  him  a  "  good  man  and  serious  theologian-."  Bonilla^ 
conjectures  that  Vives  may  have  learned  Greek  from  Bernard 
Villanova  6  Navarro.  Reading  between  the  lines  it  becomes 
evident  that  the  school  was  still  mediaeval  in  tone,  continuing 
the  traditions  of  Uonatus,  Priscian,  Alexander  de  Villa  Dei, 
and  the  other  grammarians  steeped  in  the  intricacies  of  mystic 
grammar  as  a  preparation  to  the  didactic  disputations  which 
characterised  the  Universities.  There  is  one  incident  of  Vives' 
school-days  which  requires  notice.  Amiguet  vigorously  opposed 
the  introduction  of  the  new  Institutiones  grammaticae  of  Antonio 
Gala,  Harana  Del  Ojo,  better  known  as  Antonius  Nebrissensis 
(i.e.  of  the  city  of  Lebrixa  or  Lebrija).  Antony  had  returned 
from  his  studies  continued  for  ten  years  at  Bologna  and  other 
Italian  Universities  in  1473,  and  brought  with  him  the  know- 
ledge of  classical  authors,  which  he  wished  to  expound  in 
Spain,  and  the  new  light  on  linguistic  studies  generally  from 
the  Italian  Renascence.  Hallam  says^  "Lebrixa  became  to 
Spain  what  Valla  was  to  Italy,  Erasmus  to  Germany  or 
Budaeus  to  France.... By  the  lectures  which  he  read  in  the 
Universities  of  Seville,  Salamanca  and  Alcala,  and  by  the 
institutes-^  which  he  published  on  Castilian,  on  Latin,  Greek 
and   Hebrew  grammar,   Lebrixa    contributed  in  a  wonderful 

*  Vivis  Opera,  vol.  I.  p.  10.  Majansius  gives  the  evidence  for  this 
characterisation  of  Amiguet's  Latinity.  It  may  be  noted  that  Amiguet 
produced  an  edition  in  1 500  of  an  English  author,  viz.  Thomas  Bradwardine's 
Arithmetic  and  Geometry,  the  latter  of  which  was  recommended  in  Vives' 
account  of  Mathematics.     See  p.  207  infra. 

^  Majansius'  Life,  i.  pp.  19,  20. 

*  Luis  Vives,  p.  38. 

*  Quoting  from  McCrie's  History  of  the  Reformation  in  Spain,  p.  61. 
5  Institutiones  Grammaticae,  published  at  Seville  in  1481. 


Juan  Ltiis  Vives  xlix 

degree  to  expel  barbarism  from  the  seats  of  education,  and 
to  diffuse  a  taste  for  elegant  and  useful  studies  among  his 
countrymen."  Lebrixa  was  the  compiler  of  the  first  Spanish 
grammar  and  dictionary. 

To  innovations  of  this  kind  the  older  grammarians  were 
determinedly  opposed.  It  is  related^  that  Amiguet  gave  the 
boy  Vives  exercises  in  the  routine  disputations  of  the  school 
to  prepare  invectives  against  the  revolutionary  Lebrixa.  The 
warmly  loyal  boy  had  no  hesitation  in  espousing  the  cause 
which  his  master  supported.  For  to  the  boy's  imagination 
his  master  was  sure  to  be  right  in  his  judgments.  Accordingly 
in  1507  Vives,  at  the  beginning  of  his  sixteenth  year,  made 
orations  in  opposition  to  the  foremost  scholar"^  in  Spain,  \yho 
had  set  himself  to  bring  into  that  country  the  new  light  of  the 
Italian  Renascence  and  to  extirpate  the  barbarism  which 
oppressed  the  teachers  and  scholars.  The  story  runs  that 
not  content  with  spoken  declamations,  Vives  took  in  hand 
his  pen  and  wrote  them  out. 

Vives,  thus^s^gjexadlenLrfepfesfen^ative  of  the-Renascence, 

1  Caspar  de  Escolano,  Decada  primera  de  la  hisloria  de  Valencia  (16 10), 
lib.  v.  cap.  XX.  pp.  1037,  1057.  Quoted  by  F.  Kayser  :  Vives'  Sckrifien, 
p.  131. 

-  There  were  others  worthy  of  high  consideration  who  should  perhaps 
be  named,  since  they  influenced  Vives  at  a  later  stage.  Arias  Barbosa, 
who  had  also  studied  for  years  in  Italy,  under  Politian  and  others,  came 
in  1489  to  Salamanca,  where  he  taught  for  many  years  Greek  and  rhetoric. 
He  later  undertook  the  duties  of  tutor  in  the  Portuguese  Royal  Family. 
Barbosa  was  the  great  Spanish  scholar  in  the  Greek  language.  The 
brothers  John  and  Francis  Vergara  were  professors  at  Alcala.  Vives 
refers  to  Juan  Vergara  as  his  pupil  in  the  Transmission  of  Knoxvledge 
(p.  207  infra).  There  is  also  a  letter  from  Vives  to  John  Vergara  ( Vivis 
Opera,  Vll.  p.  148).  Nunez  de  Guzman  wrote  the  Latin  version  for  the 
Complutensian  Polyglot,  and  was  many  years  professor  at  Salamanca  and 
afterwards  at  Alcala.  There  was  also  the  learned  Juan  Martinez  Poblacion, 
a  native  of  Valencia,  of  whom  Vives  wrote  :  "  I  will  avouch  his  theory  in 
physic  so  exact,  that  either  the  ancient  physicians  never  wrote  of  [a  certain 
disease],  or  if  they  did,  their  books  are  lost  and  perished  "  (in  Commentaries 
on  St  Aiigustine's  Civitas  Dei,  Healey's  translation,  p.  845). 

F.  W.  d 


1  Introduction 

since  he  ran  through  in  his  own  person  the  whole  gamut  of 
progress  from  the  orthodox  mediaeval  scholar  to  that  of  one  of 
the  most  advanced  Renascence  thinkers.  In  the  course  of 
his  progress,  he  had  the  opportunity  of  reversing  his  earliest 
opinions  regarding  Lebrixa,  and  paying  mature  tribute  to  his 
scholarship  and  judgment'. 

The  mediaeval  routine  grammar  and  disputational  training 
he  received  at  school  was  probably  a  small  part  of  what  he 
imbibed  from  his  native  Valencia.  The  training  in  his  home 
was  not  confined  to  the  influence  of  his  father  and  mother  and 
sister.  His  maternal  grandfather,  Henry  March,  was  a  juris- 
consult, and  had  begun  to  train  Vives  in  the  subject  of  law, 
a  study  in  which  he  was  deeply  interested,  as  can  be  seen  in 
the  Transmission  of  Knoivledge'^. 

It  is  not  known  how  many  years  Vives  spent  at  the 
Valencia  gymnasium'*.  But  he  was  born  in  1492,  and  he 
left  Valencia  for  Paris  in  1509,  and  he  was  certainly  at  the 
gymnasium  in  1507  and  1508.  We  shall  not  be  far  wrong, 
probably,  if  we  conclude  that  though  Vives  did  not  owe  a 
great  deal,  in  his  early  training,  to  the  school,  yet  in  the 
early  influences  of  his  home'  and  home-surroundings  there  was 
much  that  served  as  the  bed-rock  of  his  character  and  intellect. 
For  wherever  he  went,  in  his  wanderings  as  a  scholar,  he 
carried  with  him,  as  has  been  said,  the  sound  of  the  bells  of 
Valencia's  reputed  three  hundred  churches. 

He  has  himself  described  the  attractiveness  of  his  native 
city.      When    Everard    de  la   Marck,   bishop  of   Liege ^   was 

1  In  153 1,  when  Vives  published  the  de  Disdplinis,  he  had  altered  his 
opinion  regarding  Antony  de  Lebrixa.     See  p.  Ivi  n^. 

-  See  pp.  262-71  infra.  Vives  also  wrote  the  j^des  Legiii/i,  I'ivis 
Opera,  v.  pp.  483-93. 

'^  This  same  institution  is  called  a  school,  gymnasium,  and  a  university, 
by  different  writers. 

^  Vives'  father  is  supposed  to  have  died  about  1507  or  1508,  and  his 
mother  a  few  years  afterwards. 

^  A  friend  to  humanistic  studies,  to  whom  Erasmus  dedicated  his 
Paraphrases  on  the  Epistles  of  St  Paul  to  the  Corinthians. 


Juan  Luis  Vives  li 

appointed  to  the  Archbishopric  of  Valencia  in  1520,  Vives, 
then  at  Louvain,  was  stirred  to  show  good-will  to  a  distin- 
guished man,  going  to  his  own  city,  and  dedicated  to  him 
one  of  his  small  works  ^  In  this  dedication,  Vives  de  pleiti 
civur,  describes  the  genius  loci:  "Which  shall  I  first  con- 
gratulate, on  your  election  as  Archbishop  of  Valencia, 
reverend  Father,  and  most  illustrious  Prince,  yourself,  or 
my  fellow-citizens  and  myself?  For  both  parties  must  be 
congratulated."  Vives  then  praises  the  natural  beauty  of 
the  district  in  and  around  Valencia,  and  the  "  humanity "  of 
the  nobles  and  gentry  there,  "  with  whom  intimate  intercourse 
will  never  pall."  He  concludes  by  saying  the  charms  of 
Valencia  are  greater  than  can  be  compressed  into  a  letter. 
"  I  speak  of  my  country  as  of  my  possessions,  somewhat 
modestly,  lest  my  words  should  afford  ground  for  the  suspicion 
that  I  am  boasting."" 

The  natural  features  of  Valencia  burnt  themselves  into  the 
consciousness  of  Vives  as  a  youth.  In  the  latest  of  his  books 
which  he  wrote  for  boys,  the  School  Dialogues',  there  are 
several  passages,  which  hint  at  a  joy  in  nature  and  an  obser- 
vation of  the  district,  which  show  a  love  of  Valencia,  not 
dissimilar  to  that  of  the  distinguished  living  Spanish  novelist 
Blasco  Ibanez,  also  a  Valencian^  The  same  features  are 
common  to  the  older  and  the  present  Valencian, — the  nightin- 
gale, the  wonderful  sky,  the  rich  fruit,  the  scent  of  flowers,  and 
so  on.  When  Vives  wrote  the  School  Dialogues,  at  Breda  in 
Brabant,  surely  we  may  trace  what  his  boyhood  had  built  up 
in  him  at  Valencia  from  such  a  passage  as  the  following  : 

"  Let  us  go  on  the  green  walk,  and  not  take  it  as  if  in 

1  Viz.  Joannis  Ltidoz'ici  Vivis  Valentini  Somnhon,  quae  est  Praefatio 
ad  Somnium  Scipionis  Ciceroniani.      Vivis  Opera  II.  p.  62. 

2  The  Exercitatio,  1539  (translated  in  Foster  Watson's  Tudor  Scitool-boy 
Life.     The  passage  quoted  occurs  pp.  88-90). 

^  Translations  are  given  of  nature-passages  from  Ibanez  in  A.  F.  Calvert's 
Valencia  and  Mitrriti,  pp.  3-7. 

ci2 


lii  Introdtiction 

a  rush,  but  slowly  and  gently.  Let  us  make  the  circuit  of 
the  city  walls  twice  or  three  times  and  contemplate  the 
splendid  view  the  more  peacefully  and  freely."  Surely  he 
was  not  thinking  of  the  Netherlands  but  of  Spanish  Valencia 
when  he  goes  on  to  describe  spring. 

[After  contemplating  the  view]  Joannius  says  : 
"  There  is  no  sense  which  has  not  a  lordly  enjoyment ! 
First  the  eyes !  what  varied  colours,  what  clothing  of  the 
earth,  and  trees !  what  tapestry !  what  paintings  are  com- 
parable with  this  view?... Not  without  truth  has  the  Spanish 
poet,  Juan  de  Mena,  called  May  the  painter  of  the  earth. 
Then  the  ear.  How  delightful  to  hear  the  singing  of  birds, 
and  especially  the  nightingale.  Listen  to  her  (as  she  sings 
in  the  thicket)  from  whom,  as  Pliny  says,  issues  the  modulated 
sound  of  the  completed  science  of  music... In  very  fact  you 
have,  as  it  were,  the  whole  study  and  school  of  music  in  the 
nightingale.  Her  little  ones  ponder  and  listen  to  the  notes, 
which  they  imitate.  The  tiny  disciple  listens  with  keen  in- 
tentness  (would  that  our  teachers  received  like  attention  !) 
and  gives  back  the  sound.  And  then  again  they  are  silent. 
The  correction  by  example  and  a  certain  criticism  from  the 
teacher-bird  are  closely  observed'.  But  Nature  leads  them 
aright,  whilst  human  beings  exercise  their  wills  wrongly.  Add 
to  this  there  is  a  sweet  scent  breathing  in  from  every  side, 
from  the  meadows,  from  the  crops,  and  from  the  trees,  even 
from  the  fallow  land  and  the  neglected  fields!  Whatsoever 
you  lift  to  your  mouth  has  its  relish,  as  even  from  the  very 
air  itself,  like  the  earliest  and  softest  honey." 

Vives  thus  reveals  himself  as  an  observer  and  lover  of 
Nature,  even  in  a  book  designed  for  Latin  exercises.  "  After 
the  last  returns  the  first."  The  mature  man  in  Brabant 
returned  to  the  memories  of  his  Valencian  boyhood.  The 
boy's  unconscious  and  undirected  training  in  sense  observation 

1  This  clearly  anticipates  the  main  principle  of  the  interesting  naturalist 
W.  J.  Long  in  his  School  of  the  Woods. 


Juan  Luis  Vives  liii 

was  the  preparation  for  insight  into  the  problems  of  Nature- 
study,  and  the  advocacy  of  sense  observation  as  a  necessary 
part  of  early  education.  For  it  was  Vives,  and  not  Bacon,  as 
is  sometimes  supposed,  who  first  insisted  on  the  significance  of 
Nature-observation,  and  the  necessity  of  sense  training  as  a 
basis  for  intellectual  education.  And,  as  we  saw  in  connexion 
with  the  advocacy  of  the  vernacular  in  education,  so  in  his 
attitude  to  Nature-study  and  to  sense  training,  Vives  is  on  the 
whole  pressing  forward  far  more  distinctively  than  Erasmus  on 
to  the  highroad  of  modern  scientific  and  educational  progress. 
It  is  clear  that  his  early  life  at  Valencia  was  a  formative  factor 
in  bringing  him  to  this  realistic  attitude. 

In  addition  to  the  city  of  his  birth  we  must  also  recognise 
that  that  nationality  to  which  he  belonged  by  birth  was  always 
near  to  his  heart \  When  Vives  left  Spain  to  go  to  Paris  he 
went  amongst  Spanish  friends.  When,  in  after  years,  he  de- 
scribes his  experiences  in  Paris,  it  is  to  his  Spanish  teachers 
he  refers,  as  it  was  his  school  teachers  at  Valencia  that  he 
remembered  affectionately,  despite  the  fact  that  they  belonged 
to  the  old  order.  When  Vives  came  to  England  it  was  to  the 
court  of  his  compatriot,  Catharine  of  Aragon.  When  he  spent 
the  last  years  at  Bruges,  he  sought  that  city  because  there 
was  a  Spanish  quarter  there.  Once,  when  ill  at  Louvain,  he 
removed  to  Bruges  to  have  a  Spanish  physician  at  hand  and 
the  comfort  of  Spanish  nursing.  He  married  a  lady  of  Spanish 
descent,  of  a  collateral  branch  of  his  own  family,  at  Bruges. 
And,  finally,  he  himself  tells  us,  as  the  highest  commendation 
that  he  can  pass  on  Bruges,  that  it  seems  to  him  from  its 
Spanish  connexions  to  be  a  second  Valencia. 

In   all   this   family,   local,   and  national   attraction,   he   is 

1  The  eftect  of  the  Spanish  influence  on  England  in  connexion  with  the 
education  of  women  is  traced  in  Vives  and  the  Renasce7ice  Education  oj 
Women  (Introduction).  The  Age  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  into  the 
results  of  which  Vives  entered,  were  to  Spain  roughly  what  the  Elizabethan 
Age  was  to  England  a  century  later. 


liv  Introduction 

far  removed  from  Erasmus.  Vives  always  carried  his  past 
with  him,  and  built  on  it  as  the  basis  of  his  development 
and  the  evolution  of  his  ideas,  even  when  incorporating  freely, 
gladly  and  critically  from  his  environment,  including  in  that 
term  his  reading  of  the  ancients  and  the  experience  of  the 
present.  Erasmus  was  in  revolt  against  his  own  past.  He 
acknowledged  no  father-land.  He  formed  no  intimate  local  ties. 
He  was  a  free-lance,  an  iconoclast.  He  towered  above  the 
world  in  his  detachment.  His  lonely  greatness  in  some 
degree  hindered  that  sense  of  sympathy  with  the  mass  of 
men  that  is  so  essential  to  the  inspiring  educationist.  He 
built  up  no  system  of  educational  thought.  If  he  mercilessly 
attacked  mediaeval  Aristotelian  dialectic,  he  offered  no  sugges- 
tions for  a  new  logic.  If  he  scathingly  attacked  the  old 
grammars  of  Alexander  de  Villa  Dei,  or  Eberhard,  or  the 
Florista,  he  himself  devised  no  grammar  on  a  new  and  ap- 
proved model,  though  he  revised  that  of  Colet  and  Lily.  As 
an  educationist  his  strength  was  largely  on  the  negative  side. 
Vives  it  is  true  wrote  on  the  Corruptions  of  the  Arts  and  was 
thus  far  negative.  But  his  real  educational  interest  was  con- 
structive, as  was  shown  in  the  Transjnission  of  Knowledge. 

Vives  is  more  in  line  with  the  beginnings  of  modern 
educational  developments  because  his  early  formative  influ- 
ences of  attachment  to  home,  city,  nation,  were  more  in 
accordance  with  what  have  become  the  essential  conditions  of 
later  educational  practice  than  were  those  of  Erasmus. 

(2)      Vives  at  Paris. 

In  1509  Vives  left  the  Valencian  school  or  university  and 
proceeded  to  Paris.  He  was  now  1 7  years  of  age.  He  attended 
the  courses  of  the  College  de  Beauvais'.  According  to  the 
organisation  of  the  University  of  Paris  from  the  12th  century 

1  Eniile  N'anden  Hussche,  Luiz  Vives :  Un  Mot.  In  La  Flandie  (1876), 
p.  298. 


Juan  Luis  Vives  Iv 

students  were  divided  into  four  Nations ^  The  "Nation"  of 
the  Gauls  included  Paris,  Sens,  Rheims,  Tours  and  Bourges.  It 
was  to  this  last-named  division  that  Italians  and  Spanish  were 
attached  ^  i\ll  students  were  supposed  to  come  already  equipped 
with  a  knowledge  of  the  elements  of  reading,  writing,  grammar, 
i.e.  Latin  grammar,  and  with  a  certain  amount  of  training  in 
disputation,  and  in  fact  with  all  the  preparatory  studies  in  the 
Uberal  arts^  desirable  for  a  prolonged  dialectical  course.  All  these 
studies  served  the  purpose  of  training  for  theology,  law,  medicine, 
which  were  acquired  by  dialectical  and  disputational  methods. 
The  chief  text-books^  used  in  the  University  were  the  Catholicon 
of  Johannes  de  Janua,  the  Vocabidarium  of  Hugotio  or  of  Papias, 
the  Mamnietractus  or  Mavimotredus  of  Giovanni  Marchesini,  the 
Floretus  or  Corniitus  of  Johannes  de  Garlandia,  the  Doctrinale 
of  Alexander  de  Villa  Dei,  the  Graecisitius  of  Eberhard  of 
Bethune,  the  Legenda  A  urea"  Sanctorum  of  Jacobus  de  Voragine, 
the  Specula  of  Vincent  of  Beauvais,  the  Sum/nulae  of  Peter 
Hispanus  and  of  Paul  Venetus. 

The  "  masters "  who  taught  Vives  at  Paris  were  Gaspar 
Lax,  a  Spaniard,  and  John  Dullard,  who  came  from  Ghent. 
Moreover,  the  Spanish  teachers  and  students  have  received 
the  reputation  of  being  at  that  time  the  narrowest  and  most 
abstruse  dialecticians'*,  and  it  was  amongst   these  that  Vives 

'  These  were  the  "honourable'"  nation  of  the  Gauls,  the  "  venerable  " 
nation  of  the  Normans,  the  "most  faithful"  nation  of  the  Picards,  and  the 
"  most  constant  "  nation  of  the  Germans,  which  included  England. 

-  Bonilla,  p.  46. 

•*  The  trivium  of  grammar,  dialectic,  rhetoric,  and  the  quadrivium  of 
arithmetic,  geometry,  astronomy  and  music. 

^  Bonilla,  p.  50. 

^  For  Vives'  criticism  on  the  Legenda  Aurea,  see  p.  cxlviii. 

•>  Bonilla  remarks  that  many  Spaniards  were  amongst  the  most  decided 
champions  of  the  reactionary  hosts  and  names  the  following  :  Juan  de 
Celaya  (from  Valencia),  Professor  in  the  College  de  Ste  Barbara  at  Paris  ; 
Fernando  de  Enzinas,  a  master  in  the  College  de  Beauvais  at  Paris ;  the 
three  brothers   Coroneles,   one  of  whom   was  rector   of  the  College  de 


Ivi  Introduction 

probably  mixed  during  his  residence  in  Paris.  When  the  time 
came  that  he  opened  up  his  incisive  and  overwhehning  attack 
on  the  Parisian  schools,  it  is  characteristic  that  Lax'  and 
Dullard  are  mentioned  with  the  affectionate  respect  and  regard 
that  Vives  felt  for  teachers  (and  for  old  associations)  whatever 
their  intellectual  limitations. 

John  Dullard  struck  the  keynote  of  conservatism  in  studies 
when  he  laid  down  time  after  time  to  his  pupil  the  didicm  : 
The  better  a  man  is  versed  in  the  reading  of  authors  the  worse 
dialectician  and  theologian  he  will  become'.  The  significance 
of  the  fight  between  Mediaevalism  and  the  Renascence  is  often 
reduced  to  the  question  of  pre-eminence  between  grammar 
and  rhetoric  on  the  one  side  and  dialectic  or  logic  on  the 
other.  It  must,  however,  always  be  understood  that  couched 
in  these  terms  grammar  and  rhetoric  stand  for  the  critical 
reading  and  study  of  authors. 

Vives  has  entered  into  the  fullest  explanation  of  the  whole 
conflict,  and  although  it  would  take  us  too  far  afield  to  present 
an  exposition  in  detail,  yet  a  general  account,  gathered  as  far 
as  possible  from  Vives  himself,  will  enable  us  to  understand 
what  residence  in  Paris  had  meant  to  him  in  the  years  from 

Montaigu  in  Paris  ;  Juan  Dolz  del  Castellar,  Professor  at  the  College 
de  Lyons  at  Paris,  and  eight  other.  Spaniards,  leaders  of  the  time  in  Paris. 

1  Caspar  Lax  is  one  of  the  interlocutors  in  Vives'  Sapientis  Inquisitio, 
which  gives  a  sketch  of  the  studies  of  the  time. 

-  Quoties  illud  mihi  Johannes  Dullardus  ingessit :  Qiianto  eris  melior 
grammaticus,  tanto  peior  dialecticus  et  theologies.  (Bk  II.  chap.  2,  de 
Causis  Corruptarum  Artiinn.)  Vives  explains  himself,  in  another  passage, 
that  he  means  by  -x  grammaticus  the  teacher  who  helps  the  pupil  to  under- 
stand what  is  to  be  learned  from  written  books,  e.g.  poets,  historians,  etc. 
Hence,  he  says,  the  graintnaticus  is  called  lilteratus.  As  an  instance  of 
the  dignity  which  should  attach  to  the  grammaticus  he  instances  the 
Spanish  Antonius  Nebrissensis  "who  fur  his  varied  and  far-reaching 
erudition,  versed  as  he  was  in  every  kind  of  writer,  might  have  assumed 
any  description  or  title  he  liked,  yet  preferred  to  be  called  and  esteemed 
nothing  so  much  as  to  be  -3.  grammaticus^''  de  Causis  Corruptarum  Artium, 
bk  11.  cap.  2,  Majansius  ed.  vi.  pp.  84-5. 


Juan  Luis  Vives  Ivii 

1509  to  1514,  and  its  decisive  importance  in  his  intellectual 
development.  For  the  result  of  Vives'  quarrel  with  the  dialec- 
ticians and  scholastic  philosophers  of  Paris,  and  his  protagonism 
of  the  "reading  of  authors,"  was,  as  Lange  says,  that  "he  broke 
the  bridge  behind  him,"  and  went  forward,  in  his  intellectual 
outlook,  to  meet  the  future  half-way. 

In  1 5 19,  after  he  had  left  Paris  five  years,  he  wrote  at 
Louvain  (where  the  study  of  "good  letters"  counted)  a  treatise 
in  the  form,  of  a  letter  to  a  young  friend  from  Louvain,  named 
John  Sterck  or  Fortis ',  a  student  in  the  University  of  Paris. 
This  book  was  entitled  /;/  Pseudo-diakcticos-.  In  it  Vives  gave 
examples  of  the  obscurities  and  barbarisms  which  characterised 
the  logicians  or  dialecticians,  who  tyrannised  over  every  branch 
of  knowledge  as  within  their  scope.  He  showed  how  they  had 
hindered  the  advance  of  literature  by  their  use  of  corrupt,  and 
too  often  meaningless,  terminology  and  language,  all  leading 
to  wild  and  outrageous  incorrectness  of  thought  and  speech. 
They  cannot  be  understood  by  Latinists,  nor  even  by  one 
another.  Yet  the  technical  language  of  dialectic  is  a  sort  of 
Latin.  Were  it  brought  into  the  light  of  the  ordinary 
vernacular,  intelligible  to  the  crowd,  "the  whole  host  of 
working  men,  with  hisses  and  clamour  and  the  clanging  of 
their  tools,  would  hoot  dialecticians  out  of  the  city.  For  they 
would  seem  bereft  of  wits,  and  of  ordinary  common  sense." 
If  dialectic  used  the  vernacular  as  its  instrument,   the  true 

^  Felix  Neve  [College  des  Trois  Langues,  p  387)  can  hardly  be  right 
in  identifying  this  John  Fortis  with  the  John  Fortis  who  was  President 
of  Busleiden's  College  at  Louvain.  For  the  latter  was  director  of  the 
College  de  Saint  Donat  in  15 17,  and  was  transferred  to  the  headship  of 
Busleiden's  College  in  1520,  and  could  not,  therefore,  have  been  a  student 
in  Paris  in  1519.  The  John  Fortis  at  Paris  may  have  been  the  President's 
son,  in  whom  Vives  may  have  been  interested  for  the  father's  sake  as  well 
as  for  his  own. 

2  The  subject  is  also  treated  in  the  following  works  of  Vives  :  the 
dialogue:  Sapientis  Inqjiisitio  (1538),  de  Disputatione  (153  0.  and  of  course 
in  de  Causis  Corruptarum  Artium  (1531). 


Iviii  Introduction     . 

could  be  sifted  from  the  false  arguments  by  everybody.  "  But 
he  who  does  not  understand  the  jargon  of  the  dialecticians 
is  deceived  in  the  beginning  of  his  studies,  and  the  further  he 
proceeds  the  further  he  goes  wrong.  It  is  certain  that  the 
pseudo-Latin  they  employ  would  not  be  understood  by  Cicero 
if  he  came  to  life  again.  But,  not  only  so,  there  is  none  of 
the  pseudo-dialecticians  who  can  possibly  speak  with  such 
circumspection  as  not  to  sin  constantly  against  even  his  own 
most  empty  rules  and  forms. 

Vives  is  satisfied  that  in  its  origin  the  Disputation  was 
justifiable.  The  earliest  object  was,  rightly  enough,  the  attempt 
to  fix  more  deeply  what  had  been  taught  by  the  teacher. 
There  had  been,  amongst  the  older  men,  formerly,  a  comparison 
of  opinions  and  reasons,  not  the  intent  absorption  on  victory, 
but  on  the  elucidation  of  truth.  The  name  "Disputation"  bears 
witness  that  the  original  intention  of  the  practice  was  that 
the  subject-matter  of  thought  should  be  pruned  or  purged  of 
all  falsity,  so  that  the  truth  might  emerge.  Afterwards,  praise 
and  reward  were  bestowed  by  an  audience  on  the  best  debater. 
From  praise  often  came  riches  and  wealth.  "The  depraved 
desire  of  honour  or  money  penetrated  the  minds  of  disputants, 
and  just  as  in  a  prize  fight,  victory  alone,  not  the  elucidation  of 
truth,  became  the  aim." 

The  Disputation  had  taken  possession  of  the  whole  field 
of  education  as  the  prevailing  method.  It  was  not  limited 
to  the  practical  training  of  the  theologian,  the  lawyer,  the 
physician,  as  an  instrument  for  the  discovery  of  truth.  And, 
to  further  complete  its  downfall  in  the  universities,  dialectic 
borrowed  from  metaphysics  and  clouded  the  minds  of  all 
kinds  of  students  with  disputations  on  "  realitates,  formaiitates, 
e/ifitafes,  de  modo  significandi  vocum:  on  which  Scotus,  .Albertus 
Saxo,  and  Boethius  have  written  as  well  as  the  book  whose 
title   is   de   ScJioIariiim    discipliiia\    than    which,"   adds   Vives, 

1  This  book,  of  pseudo-Boethius  authorship,  in  the  opinion  of  Sir 
William   Hamilton,   was  written   by  Thomas  Cantipratensis   in    the   first 


Juan   Luis  Vives  lix 

"  I   think  nothing   in   the   whole   corruption  of  the  arts  was 
ever  more  inaptly  or  foolishly  conceived." 

By  15 19,  when  Vives  was  writing  the  In  Pseudo-dialedicos, 
he  had  already  become  a  friend  of  Erasmus,  and  it  was  in  this 
year  that  Erasmus  had  said  to  More  that  no  man  was  better 
fitted  than  Vives  "to  utterly  overwhelm  the  battalions  of  the 
dialecticians."  Vives,  indeed,  almost  rose  to  the  high  satirical 
vein  of  his  friend  and  senior'  when  he  wrote  in  his  later  work 
on  The  Causes  of  the  Corruptions  of  the  Arts,  in  1531^ — on  the 
way  in  which  boys'  schools  had  been  polluted  with  the  jargon 
and  senseless  trifling  of  the  dialecticians  who  had  managed 
with  their  endless  terminology  of  definitions,  divisions,  argu- 
mentations, majors,  minors,  conclusions,  etc.,  to  invade  the 
province  of  grammar,  that  subject,  in  the  wide  sense  of  the  term, 
for  which  the  humanists  had  such  high  respect.  They  waged 
their  disputations  around  Donatus  and  Priscian,  and  worried 
the  boys  with  their  glosses  and  commentators,  and  practised 
the  boy  in  wordy  disputes  on  these  subjects  in  the  name  of 
'grammar,'  "beginning  his  career  of  altercation  from  his 
birth  and  making  no  end  of  it  for  him  until  his  death." 
Vives  then  continues  in  flood-like  invective  quite  in  the 
manner  of  Erasmus,  "  When  a  boy  has  been  brought  to  the 
school,  at  once  he  is  required  to  dispute,  on  the  very  first 
day,  immediately  he  is  taught  to  wrangle,  though  as  yet 
unable  to  talk.  The  same  practice  is  pursued  in  Grammar,  in 
the  Poets,  in  History,  as  in  Dialectic  and  Rhetoric,  and  in 
absolutely  every  subject.  Someone  may  wonder  how  the  most 
apparent,  simple,  rudimentary  matters  can  be  susceptible  of 

half  of  the  13th  century.  It  gives  a  sketch  of  the  academic  methods  of 
the  time  (Sir  W.  HamiUon,  Discussions  on  Philosophy,  Literature,  Educa- 
tion etc.,  3rd  ed.  p.  776). 

1  In  considering  the  personal  relations  of  Erasmus  and  Vives  it  is 
reasonable  to  take  into  account  the  fact  that  Erasmus  was  twenty-six  years 
older  than  Vives.  The  letters  of  Vives  are  full  of  this  affection  and 
admiration  of  a  vounger  for  an  older  man. 


Ix  Introduction 

argument  ?  But  nothing  is  so  clear  that  some  Httle  questions 
cannot  be  raised  about  it,  and  even  as  by  a  wind,  stirred  into 
action.  These  beginners  are  accustomed  never  to  be  silent, 
to  asseverate  confidently  whatever  is  in  their  mouths,  lest  at 
any  time  they  should  seem  to  have  ceased  speaking.  Nor 
does  one  disputation  a  day  sufifice,  or  two,  as  with  eating. 
At  breakfast  they  wrangle  ;  after  breakfast  they  wrangle  ;  at 
supper  they  wrangle,  after  supper  they  wrangle.  In  the  house 
they  wrangle  ;  out  of  doors  they  wrangle.  At  meals,  at  the 
bath,  in  the  sweating-room,  in  the  temple,  in  the  city,  in  the 
country,  in  public,  in  private,  in  every  place,  at  every  time, 
they  are  wrangling ^" 

But  Vives  hmiself  not  merely  indulges  in  this  vigorous 
onslaught ;  he  also  indicates  the  available  remedies.  He  pro- 
poses the  abandonment  from  early  education  of  dialectic  based 
on  metaphysical  terminology,  and,  instead,  the  introduction 
of  pupils  to  the  direct  knowledge  of  the  external  world ;  for 
this  comes  first  in  the  normal  process  of  our  knowledge.  He 
points  out  that  we  cannot  penetrate  into  "inner  mysteries," 
except  through  those  things  which  are  external.  He  ridicules 
the  action  of  the  logicians  in  taking  the  raw  boy  straight  from 
his  studies  in  grammar  and  plunging  him  in  the  Praedicabilia, 
the  Praedicainenta  and  the  six  Principia.  For,  says  he,  "  the 
process  is  to  the  unknown  through  the  known  {ad  incognita 
enim  itur  per  cognita'-)  and  ive  can  only  attain  the  verdict  of  the 
mind's  judgment  by  first  employing  the  functions  of  the  senses'' 
The  second  remedy  is  that  the  youth  should  receive  a  sound 
training  in  Latin  and  Greek  and  in  the  various  subjects  of 
knowledge  which  have  been  best  expounded  in  those  languages. 
For  the  rest,  he  should  then  understand,  or  at  least  his  teachers 
should  realise,  what  the  aim  and  scope  of  logic  is.  Vives 
maintains  that  students  should  not  learn  logic  as  an  art  for 
its  own  sake,  but  as  an  instrument  for  the  acquisition  of  more 

^  De  Causis  Corrupianc??i  Arfiitm,  Opera  vi.  ]).  50. 
•^  Ibid.  VI.  p.  131  (bottom  of  page). 


Juan  Luis  Vives  Ixi 

important  knowledge.  Just  so  much  Logic  should  be  acquired 
as  will  be  of  assistance  to  us  in  pursuing  what  we  ought  to  study 
in  the  other  branches  of  knowledge.  Who  can  tolerate  the 
man  who  knows  nothing  beyond  the  boundaries  of  logic? 
Who  would  approve  a  painter  occupying  the  whole  of  his 
life  in  preparing  his  brushes  and  mixing  his  pigments;  or 
the  cobbler  in  sharpening  his  needles,  his  awl,  and  knives, 
and  in  merely  twisting  and  smearing  thread,  and  then  rubbing 
it  ?  "  If  such  expenditure  of  time  is  intolerable  for  good  Logic, 
how  far  can  we  be  expected  to  tolerate  the  babblement  which 
has  corrupted  every  branch  of  knowledge  in  the  name  of 
Logic'?" 

But  Vives  is  not  only  swayed  by  deep  indignation  and 
unrestrainable  contempt  for  the  corruptions  of  dialectic.  He 
is  also  full  of  passionate  longing  and  enthusiastic  expectation 
of  the  change  that  must  come.  He  recalls  the  fact  that  in  the 
Middle  Ages  the  Latin  language  had  first  become  "moderately" 
degenerated,  and  then  it  found  no  avenger.  At  last  its 
impurity  became  so  unbearable  that  scholars  arose  in  revolt 
and  restored  it  to  its  splendour,  beyond  the  reach  of  further 
obscurity  or  corruption.  And  then  Vives  adds  :  "  I  do  not 
know  whether  it  would  not  be  better  to  pray  that  the 
obscurantists  proceed  in  the  heaping  up  of  their  insanities, 
accumulating  them  in  every  place  with  all  possible  swiftness, 
so  swiftly  that,  as  soon  as  possible,  not  only  the  most  noble 
minds  but  even  the  lowest  of  the  low  may  recoil  in  distaste 
from  them,  and  all  kinds  of  men  may  unite  for  the  downfall  of 
their  stupidity.''  Suddenly,  he  turns  from  impassioned  invective 
to  the  vision  of  the  future  :  "  I  see  as  if  from  the  depth  that 
this  change  is  strenuously  in  progress.  For  amongst  all  the 
nations,  men  are  coming  forward  of  clear,  excellent,  and  free 
intellects,  impatient  of  servitude,  who  are  determined  to  thrust 
off  the  yoke  of  this  most  foolish  and  violent  tyranny  from  their 
necks.     They  are  calling  their  fellow-citizens  to  Uberty.     They 

1   /n  Psettdo-dialecticos,  Opera  III.  pp.  58,  59. 


Ixii  hitrodMction 

will  assert  absolutely  the  claims  of  the  citizen  of  the  republic  of 
letters  to  intellectual  liberty,  most  delightful  even  far  off — the 
liberty  which  has  been  lacking  for  so  many  centuries,  and  will 
train  the  students  in  genuine  arts  and  sciences  not  by  wild 
and  violent  masters,  but  by  those  most  gracious  and  holy 
teachers...." 

Vives  had  experienced  the  struggle  of  leaving  the  paths 
of  the  old  traditions,  and  had  made  the  "  great  refusal "  which 
emancipated  intellects  have  usually  had  to  make.  He  describes 
the  change  from  the  old  to  the  new  in  his  own  intellectual 
development :  "  I  thank  God  most  gratefully  that  I  have  left 
Paris,  as  if  escaping  from  Cimmerian  darkness  into  light. 
I  have  found  out  by  experience  what  is  in  those  branches 
of  knowledge  which  are  worthy  of  man  and  are  thence  called 
the  '  humanities,'  for  I  am  not  so  demented,  nor  have  I 
deserved  so  ill  of  myself  as  not  to  have  weighed  the  value  of 
these  better  subjects  with  great  and  exact  care.  I  have  clearly 
recognised  that  I  was  changing  the  old  for  the  new,  what  I 
had  already  acquired  in  the  way  of  knowledge  for  what  had 
yet  to  be  won ;  what  was  secured  for  what  was  uncertain. 
No  one  willingly  puts  on  one  side  as  frivolous  or  as  mere 
trifling  what  he  has  already  acquired  by  dint  of  great  labour. 
No  one  can  regard  as  mere  child's  play  work  which  has 
occupied  so  long  a  period,  and  which  has  been  the  source  of 
such  anxiety  for  so  many  days,  and  of  sleeplessness  for  so  many 
nights.  And  thus  at  first  the  change  was  so  odious  to  me  that 
often  I  turned  away  from  the  thought  of  the  better  humanistic 
studies  to  my  old  studies,  so  that  I  might  persuade  myself  that 
I  had  not  spent  so  many  years  at  Paris  to  no  good  purpose. 
And  I  do  not  doubt  also  that  this  message  (of  humanism)  will 
be  most  hateful  to  many,  though  it  behoves  them  to  give  it 
their  best  consideration  if  they  will  attach  credence  to  the 
experience  of  others.  Those  who  cannot  be  amongst  the 
best  and  most  accomplished  scholars  (such  as  by  their  own 
efforts  attain  all   their  knowledge)   may   be  at  least    in    that 


Juan  Luis  Vives  Ixiii 

class  of  good  men  who  give  heed  to  the  man  who  counsels 
them.  For  they  may  then  learn  that  they  can  be  saved  from 
the  worst  class  of  men,  who  neither  have  knowledge  gained  by 
their  own  activity  of  mind  nor  listen  to  the  men  of  intellectual 
experience  who  advise  them  in  the  better  subjects." 

The  breaking-up  of  old  associations,  the  cutting  of  the 
cables  which  bound  him  to  the  school  of  Valencia  and  the 
University  of  Paris,  to  the  teachers  and  to  the  fellow-students 
whom  he  had  met  there,  could  not  but  deeply  grieve  his 
affectionate  nature.  The  memory  of  this  struggle  becomes 
articulate'  when  Vives  accepts  the  irresistible  call  to  follow  the 
light  of  the  reading  of  authors  and  the  knowledge  of  the  great 
writers  of  antiquity.  With  Paris  left  behind,  in  the  quiet  of  the 
intellectual  centre  of  Louvain,  and  with  the  warm  sympathy 
close  to  him  of  the  one  man  for  whom  Vives  had  learned  to 
care  the  most,  and  to  reverence  as  the  highest  of  humanists, 
he  had  achieved  the  honour,  which  balanced  all  his  pains  and 
struggle,  in  having  Erasmus  for  his  preceptor  and  friend. 

(3)      Vives  at  Bruges  and  Louvain. 

There  is  some  doubt  as  to  the  year  in  which  Vives  first 
went  to  Bruges.  But  it  is  probable  that  he  left  Paris  to 
take  up  permanent  residence  in  Bruges  at  the  beginning  of 
November  1514-.     This  does  not  conflict  with  the  statement 

.  ^  In  Pseudo-dialect icos,  Opera  III.  p.  63.  Vives  has  the  satisfaction, 
however,  of  noting  that  his  old  teachers  John  Dullard  and  Caspar  Lax 
had  come  to  lament  most  deeply  the  time  they  had  wasted  on  dialectical 
studies. 

^  Vanden  Bussche  quotes  the  dedication  of  Vives'  Christi  Triumphus 
to  show  that  he  was  still  in  Paris  in  Oct.  15 14,  and  states  that  it  is  con- 
firmed by  other  passages  in  his  works.  The  Bruges  archivist  asserts  that 
there  is  no  record  in  the  town  archives,  nor  has  he  found  any  in  Vives' 
works,  warranting  the  1512  date.  Naturally  Vives  would  wish  in  his 
dedication  to  the  town  authorities  at  Bruges  to  give  the  outside  limit  to 
his  connexion  with  the  town.  On  the  other  hand  there  is  no  reason  to 
doubt  his  calculation  as  to  the  number  of  years  since  his  first  visit  to  Bruges. 
Vives  distinctly  states  that  his  residence  has  not  been  continuous.    See  p.  Ixv. 


Ixiv  Tntrodttction 

that  has  been  made  that  Vives  was  in  Bruges  in  151 2.  This 
seems  to  be  founded  on  the  dedication  of  Vives'  public-spirited 
work — on  Poor-Relief  (the  de  Subventiotie  Pauperum).  This 
book  was  pubhshed  in  1526,  and  shows  the  affection  which 
had  grown  up  in  Vives  for  the  city  of  his  adoption,  Bruges. 
The  statement  that  he  has  been  in  Bruges  for  fourteen  years, 
made  in  1526,  is  intelligible,  even  if  he  only  paid  the  city  a 
temporary  visit  in  15 12,  and  became  a  resident  in  15 14.  The 
Prefatory  letter  reveals  a  spirit  far  removed  from  mediaevalism 
and  is  in  touch  with  the  modern  citizen's  ideal  of  the  promotion 
of  the  public  good  by  all  men.  Paris  was  the  scene  of  the 
progress  of  Vives  from  the  hateful  morasses  of  scholasticism 
to  the  verdant  pastures  of  "good  letters."  After  another 
fourteen  years  of  life  mainly  at  Bruges,  Vives  has  reached  the 
resting-place  of  his  intellectual  development  in  the  recognition 
that  the  most  thorough  scholarship  is  not  an  end  in  itself  The 
idea  of  "scholarship  for  scholarship's  sake"  is  illusory.  Scholar- 
ship is  not  the  end  of  life ;  it  is  the  glorious  means  whereby  a 
man  renders  himself  the  most  effective  human  agent  in  pro- 
moting the  real  ends  of  piety  and  the  search  for  truth.  The 
value  of  the  results  thus  obtained  from  learning  lies  in  the 
application  of  all  knowledge  to  the  common  good  of  mankind. 
This  vitally  interesting  letter  is  the  piece  justificative  of  this 
further  great  change  of  standpoint  in  Vives'  life.  The  following 
is  a  translation  of  the  Prefatory  Letter. 

"  Juan  Luis  Vives,  to  the  Town  Council  of  Bruges,  all  health. 

"  Cicero  teaches  that  it  is  the  duty  of  a  foreigner  and 
stranger  to  abstain  from  prying  into  the  affairs  of  the  state 
that  receives  him.  This  is  sound  advice,  for  to  occupy 
ourselves  with  other  people's  business  is  hateful  in  any  place. 
But  friendly  concern  and  admonition  are  not  thereby  to  be 
disapproved.  P'or  the  law  of  nature  does  not  permit  anything 
which  deals  with  the  interests  of  his  fellow- men  to  be  alien  to 
any  man.  The  love  of  Christ  has  united  men  to  one  another, 
may  I  say,  with  an  indissoluble  bond.     To  think  that  anything 


Juan  Luis  Vives  Ixv 

connected  with  this  city  is  alien  to  me  distresses  me  as  it 
would  if  I  were  in  my  own  city  of  Valencia.  I  do  not  esteem 
this  city  otherwise  than  my  own  country,  since  /  have  been 
a  resident  here  for  the  last  fourteen  years.  Although  I  have 
not  lived  at  Bruges  continuously,  yet  I  have  always  been 
accustomed  to  return  here,  as  if  to  my  home.  Your  civic 
administration,  the  education  and  courtesy  of  your  people, 
and  the  extraordinary  neutrality  and  justice  (celebrated 
throughout  the  nations)  have  been  a  real  pleasure  to  me. 

"  Here,  too,  I  married  my  wife — and  so  I  would  wish  to 
consult  the  interests  of  this  city,  not  otherwise  than  as  that  in 
which  the  goodness  of  Christ  has  decreed  that  I  should  pass 
what  remains  of  my  life.  I  count  myself  as  its  citizen,  and 
towards  its  citizens  the  feelings  in  my  mind  are  those  of  a 
brother.  A  sense  of  the  needs  of  so  many  of  the  inhabitants 
of  this  city  has  driven  me  to  write  my  opinion  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  it  would,  in  any  way,  be  practicable  to 
reheve  their  distress.  Whilst  I  was  in  England  I  had  already 
asked  what  I  had  better  do  from  Dominus  Pratensis\  the 
Mayor  of  your  city,  who,  in  matters  concerning  the  public 
good  of  this  city,  ponders  deeply  and  often,  as,  indeed,  he 
ought  to  do.  To  you,  the  Town  Council,  this  work  is  in- 
scribed, because  you  are  heartily  disposed  both  to  confer 
benefits  upon,  and  to  relieve  the  needs  of,  the  wretched. 
For  we  see  w-hat  a  multitude  of  the  destitute  there  is,  as 
they  flock  hither  and  thither,  to  obtain  assistance  for  their 
needs.  It  was  the  original  cause  of  cities"  that  there  should  be 
opportunity  in  each  of  them  where  love  {caritas)  should  unite 
citizens  in  the  giving  and  receiving  of  benefits  and  in  mutual 
help,  and  their  association  together  should  be  strengthened. 
It  ought  to  be  the  task  and  keen  endeavour  of  the  adminis- 
trators of  the  city  to  take  care  that  each  should  help  each,  so 
that  no  one  should  be  overwhelmed  or  oppressed  by  any  loss 

^  See  p.  Ixxviii  infra. 
-  Compare  pp.  12-13  infra. 
F.  w.  e 


Ixvi  Introduction 

falling  on  him  unjustly,  that  the  stronger  should  assist  the 
weaker,  so  that  the  harmony  of  the  association  and  union  of 
the  citizens  may  increase  in  love,  day  by  day,  and  may  abide 
for  ever.  And  as  it  is  disgraceful  to  a  father  of  a  family,  in 
his  wealthy  home,  to  permit  any  one  to  suffer  hunger,  or  to 
suffer  the  disgrace  of  being  without  clothes  or  in  rags,  so  it  is 
similarly  unfitting  in  a  city  (unless  it  were  absolutely  without 
resources)  that  the  magistrates  should  tolerate  a  state  in  which 
their  citizens  are  pressed  bard  by  hunger  and  distress.  Do 
not  feel  annoyed  on  reading  what  I  have  to  say.  At  least 
consider  the  subject  itself  with  as  great  care  as  you  would 
punctiliously  inquire  into  a  lawsuit  of  a  man  in  his  private 
capacity,  in  which  there  were,  say,  a  thousand  florins  at  stake. 
I  wish  you  and  your  city  all  prosperity  and  happiness.  Bruges, 
6th  January  1526." 

This  long  quotation  is  a  historical  document.  Is  there 
earlier  than  this  any  instance  of  the  modern  attitude  towards 
civic  duty  and  ideals,  or  of  the  sense  of  individual  responsibility 
in  concerning  itself  for  the  good  of  the  entire  population,  the 
heart- felt  need  to  confer  for  the  good  of  the  poor  and  to  take 
practical  measures  for  their  amelioration ;  and,  as  the  treatise 
proceeds  to  point  out,  for  the  removal  of  the  causes  of  the 
poverty  ?  Vives,  I  venture  to  suggest,  was  the  first  to  regard 
poor-relief  as  both  an  individual  and  also  as  a  civic  task;  not  a 
question  of  merely  ecclesiastical  alms-giving,  but  as  a  matter  of 
concern  for  social  and  municipal  organisation.  In  other  words, 
the  economic  and  moral  problems  of  city  life  required  careful 
sociological  study  and  trained,  determined  efforts  on  the  part 
of  all,  to  cooperate  for  the  interests  of  all  and  for  the  good  of 
all,  utilising  the  power  and  resources  of  the  town,  and  its 
executive,  the  Town  Council. 

This  identification  of  himself  as  a  citizen  of  Bruges  with 
the  town  and  with  the  Town  Council ;  taking  its  problems 
to  heart  in  the  same  loving  anxiety  as  he  would  those  of  his 
own  city  of  Valencia,  surely  entitles  Vives  to  be  called  the  first 


Juan  Luis  Vives  Ixvii 

modern  Christian  socialist  in  the  essentially  humanistic  sense 
of  the  term.  We  have  seen  him,  at  Paris,  ploughing  his  way 
through  the  barren  soil  of  scholasticism,  and  as  the  result  of 
hard  toil  reaping  the  harvest  of  a  knowledge  of  the  new 
learning  to  be  found  in  the  best  authors.  But  the  essential 
characteristic  of  Vives  was  not  love  of  scholarship  in  itself. 
He  cared  for  his  fellow-men,  for  the  elemental  pieties  of  life, 
in  the  home,  the  city,  the  nation,  and  profoundly  believed  in 
the  best  knowledge  ascertainable,  as  the  surest  way  of  happiness 
in  the  solution  of  life's  practical  problems'. 

In  this  attitude  of  the  good  citizen  Vives  differs  from 
Erasmus.  It  is  true  that  Erasmus  is  called  Roterodamus, 
as  Vives  is  named  Valentinus.  But  it  was  not  the  part  of 
Erasmus  to  look  back  with  longing  affection  to  the  Rotterdam 
he  had  left  behind,  and  to  pour  forth  his  affection  on  the  new 
towns  of  his  sojourn,  from  their  links  of  association  with  a 
joyful  past.  Nor  in  the  social  sense  was  he  a  man  who  loved 
his  fellow-citizens.  As  he  left  one  town  for  another  he  shook 
the  dust  from  under  his  feet  and  passed  on,  absorbed  in  the 
serene  heights  of  critical  scholarship,  and  impatient  of  civic 
or  other  interruption. 

We  see,  then,  in  Vives,  that  the  five  years  of  Paris  life  had 
transformed  the  Valencian  youth  from  the  mediaeval  school-boy 
into  the  young  man  of  staunch  conviction  as  to  the  value  of  the 
New  Learning,  whilst  the  longer  residence  of  fourteen  years  at 
Bruges  (up  to  1526)  had  aroused  and  strengthened  in  him  the 
sense  of  the  value  of  true  scholarship  for  the  needs  of  the 
world.  He  was  destined,  as  he  forecasts  in  the  above  dedica- 
tion, to  pass  the  remainder  of  his  life — from  1526  to  1540 — 
chiefly  in  Bruges  as  a  permanent  residence,  though  between 
1522  and  1528  he  spent  part  of  the  year  in  England.  During 
all  this  later  time  Vives  endeavoured  to  make  clear  to  himself 
and  others,  in  whatever  branch  of  study  he  was^  engaged,  the 
relation  of  scholarship  to  practical  life. 
1  See  p.  xc  hifra. 

ez 


Ixviii  Introduction 

Such  was  the  general  line  of  the  development  of  Vives' 
life  and  character.  A  sketch  of  the  main  facts  up  to  the 
time  of  his  first  visit  to  England  in  1522  will  divide  the 
years  equally  between  Bruges  alone  (15 14-15 18)  and  between 
Bruges  and  Lou  vain  jointly  (15 18-1522). 

When  Vives  had  decided  to  leave  the  University  of  Paris 
towards  the  end  of  15 14  the  attraction  of  Bruges  must  have 
been  strong  to  prevent  him  from  turning  his  steps  back  to 
Spain  and  to  Valencia.  There  was  a  numerous  Spanish 
colony  at  Bruges,  and  it  combined  the  advantages  of  being 
not  only  a  great  commercial  centre,  but  also  the  residence  of 
men  of  literary  culture'.  Vives  spent  the  first  few  weeks  at 
Bruges  in  the  family  of  a  relative  on  his  mother's  side,  Bernard 
Valdaura,  whose  daughter  Margaret  he  afterwards  married. 

An  attempt  has  been  made  to  show  that  Vives  met  Erasmus 
as  early  as  15 14^  This  is  improbable,  since  we  know  the 
movements  of  Erasmus,  and  he  did  not  visit  Bruges  till 
June  15 1 5,  on  his  way  to  Basle.  It  is,  of  course,  possible 
that  Vives  saw  him  on  that  occasion,  but  had  that  been  so 
it  is  curious  that  neither  Vives  nor  Erasmus  refer  to  such  a 
meeting.  However,  in  July  15 17  Erasmus  removed  from 
Basle  to  Louvain,  where  he  stayed  for  three  years,  in  con- 
nexion with  the  College  des  Trois  Langues,  recently  established 
by  Jerome  Busleiden  to  further  the  new  Renascence  reading 
and  study  of  the  old  authors,  a  task  thoroughly  congenial  to 
Erasmus,  at  any  rate,  in  its  aim. 

The  College  des  Trois  Langues  was  opened  i  Sept.  15 18, 
and,  pending  the  erection   of  a  new  building,   lectures  were 

'  Amongst  the  friendships  Vives  made  at  Bruges  were  those  with 
Francis  Craneveldt,  in  whose  hands  Vives'  widow  placed  the  arrangements 
for  the  publication  of  his  posthumous  work,  De  Veritate  Fidei  Christianae, 
and  Juan  Martinez  Poblacion  (see  p.  xlix  supra),  and  the  clergymen  of  the 
Church  of  St  Donatian  (in  which  parish  Vives  lived  at  Bruges),  viz.  the 
Dean,  Marcus  Laurinus,  and  the  young  Canon,  Juan  Fevino. 

-  See  Lange,  p.  780. 


Jnmi  Luis  Vives  Ixix 

held  in  rooms  lent  by  the  Augustinian  Fathers,  close  on  the 
P'^ishmarket.  The  circular  staircase  leading  to  two  halls,  used 
as  a  larger  and  a  smaller  class-room  by  Erasmus  himself,  whose 
lectures  Vives  attended,  are  still  to  be  seen,  though  until 
recently  used  for  commercial  purposes.  Erasmus  undertook 
to  act  for  the  executors  of  Busleiden's  will,  as  the  "  promoter  " 
of  the  College,  which  sought  affiliation  with  the  University 
(founded  in  1426),  placed  in  the  building  known  as  the 
Halles.  There  were  other  colleges,  somewhat  after  the  English 
system  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  one  of  which,  the  Lilian 
College  or  gymnasium,  is  mentioned  by  Vives  (see  p.  209 
infra).  The  study  of  the  new  "  good  letters,"  or  literature,  as 
the  leaders  defined  the  object  of  the  Renascence  educational 
movement,  had  much  strenuous  opposition  to  encounter.  The 
students  of  the  Faculty  of  Arts  of  the  University  proper  took 
pleasure  in  going  everywhere  shouting  out,  "  We  don't  talk 
Fishmarket  Latin,  but  the  Latin  of  our  Mother-Faculty." 
The  authorities  had  to  intervene  to  prevent  collision,  a  state 
of  affairs  not  unknown  in  the  high  disputes  between  the 
Trojans  and  the  Greeks  in  other  academic  institutions  of 
the  time. 

The  date  at  which  Vives  appeared  as  a  pupil  of  Erasmus 
at  Louvain  is  uncertain,  but  he  had  become  fixed  in  that 
city  from  whence,  in  1518,  he  dated  his  dedication  of  the 
Mi'ditationes  in  Psalmos  Poenitentiae  to  his  pupil,  William  de 
Croy  (nephew  of  the  Duke  of  Chievres,  the  celebrated  minister 
of  Charles  V)  Archbishop-designate  of  Toledo,  and  Primate  of 
Spain,  who  was  already  a  Cardinal  of  the  Roman  Church. 
In  15 16',  when  Vives  took  him  in  charge,  he  was  only 
a  youth  of  18  years  of  age.  Vives  was  a  student  under 
Erasmus  and  in  15 19  was  a  lecturer  in  the  Halles  of  the 
University  itself,  where,  in  the  mornings,  he  expounded  Pliny's 


^  Lange  offers  good  reasons  for  the  statement  that  de  Croy  had  been 
Vives'  pupil  from   15 16. 


Ixx  Introdnction 

Natural  History,  and  in  llic  aflcrnuons,  in  his  private  house' 
in  the  rue  de  Diest,  he  lectured  on  the  Georgics  of  Virgil. 
In  [522  he  set  himself  to  deliver  a  third  lecture  each  day, 
on  Pomponius  Mela,  the  geographer.  He  is  also  said  to  have 
given  public  courses  on  Cicero's  de  Legilms^  de  Senectitte,  and 
on  the  fourth  book  of  the  Rhetorica  ad  Herenniiim ;  on  thci 
Coiwivia  of  Philelphus,  and  it  is  said  on  one  of  his  own 
books,  viz.  the  Christi  TriuinpJms'.  Amongst  Vives'  pupils 
were  Honorato  Juan,  Pedro  Maluenda,  Diego  Gracian  de 
Alderete,  Antonio  de  Berges,  and  Jeronimo  Ruffald  (Jerome 
Ruffault).  There  is  extant  a  letter  of  an  English  student 
called  Nicholas  Daryngton'',  mentioning  his  attendance  at 
Louvain  of  lectures  on   "  cosmography  "  under  Vives. 

In  1519  Vives,  accompanied  by  his  pupil  de  Croy,  went 
away  from  Louvain,  on  a  visit  to  Paris,  just  at  the  time-  that 
his  incisive  In  Pscudo-dialecticus  was,  as  a  new  book,  the 
subject  of  discussion,  and  Vives  was  surprised  to  find  that  ■ 
in  spite  of  his  intellectual  attitude  there  were  scholars  who 
were  personally  at  any  rate  favourable  to  him.  He  tells 
Erasmus  in  a  letter  of  his  warm  reception,  and  how  John 
Fortis,  to  whom  he  had  written  the  letter  of  attack  on  the 
dialecticians,  brought  together  a  company  of  scholars,  amongst 
whom  were  important  logicians  who  were  prepared  to  condemn 
"  those  stupid  follies "  of  the  schools.  But  the  great  joy  of 
the  Parisian  visit  was  to  meet  Guillaume  Bude,  Erasmus' 
friend  of  long  standing,  but,  adds  Vives,  in  a  letter  to  Erasmus, 

'  By  which  were  two  fountains.  In  the  Scliool-boy  Dialogues,  ]'estitus 
et  Deambiilatio  Matulina,  one  interlocutor  says :  "  Vives  is  accustomed  to 
call  the  fountain  close  to  the  gate  the  Greek  fountain  ;  that  one  farther  ofi" 
in  the  garden  he  calls  the  Latin  fountain.  He  will  give  you  his  reasons 
for  the  names  when  you  meet  him  "  {Ttidor  School-boy  Life,  p.  92). 

"  This  list  is  given  Ijy  M.  Paquot,  Mimoires  pour  servir  a  I'histoin' 
littiraire  des  Pays-Bas,  I.  p.   117. 

•*  Calendar  of  State  Papers  {For.  and  Dorn.),  Vol.  ill.  No.  2052,  under 
date  14  Feb.  1522.  He  says  Louvain  is  a  pleasant  place,  and  he  is  less 
disturbed  in  studies  than  he  had  been  in  Cambridge. 


Juan  Litis  Vives  Ixxl 

"now  mine,  or  rather  ours."  Vives'  warmth  of  attraction  to 
Bude  personally  was  only  equalled  by  his  admiration  for  his 
mental  gifts.  He  found  expression  for  his  affection  for  Bude 
in  i523\  nearly  four  years  after  the  meeting:  "This  man's 
sharpness  of  wit,  quickness  of  judgment,  fulness  of  diligence 
and  greatness  of  learning,  no  Frenchman  ever  paralleled,  nor 
in  these  times  any  Italian.  There  is  nothing  known  in  Greek 
or  Latin  but  he  hath  read  it  over  and  discussed  it  thoroughly. 
In  both  these  tongues  he  is  alike,  and  excellently  perfect. 
He  speaks  them  both  as  familiarly  as  he  doth  French,  his 
natural  tongue."  Vives'  admiration  for  Bude  s  character  was 
as  complete  :  "  He  always  gives  to  his  religion  the  first  place. 
Though  he  has  a  wife-  and  many  children  he  has  never  been 
drawn  from  his  true  square  by  any  profit  or  study  to  augment 
his  state,  but  evermore  swayed  both  himself  and  his  fortunes 
and  directed  both."  Bude  established  himself  as  the  greatest 
Greek  scholar  of  his  age-'  by  the  publication  of  the  Coinme7itarii 
Linguae  Graecae  m  1529. 

Towards  the  end  of  1520,  Vives  began,  at  the  solicitation 
of  Erasnms,  the  edition  of  the  text  and  Commentafies  on 
St  Augustine's  Civitas  Dei,  which  Erasmus  desired  to  be 
made  a  companion  production  to  his  own  editions  of  the 
text  of  St  Cyprian  and  of  St  Jerome.  Undertaken  by  Vives 
with  the  thought  that  it  would  exact  only  a  few  months'  labour, 
it  proved  a  heavy,  almost  intolerable  task.  On  January  10,  152  i, 
Vives'  old  pupil,  Cardinal  de  Croy,  died  at  the  age  of  23  years. 
Vives  was  bowed  down  with  sorrow.  Erasmus  had  left  Louvain 
in    1520,   and   Vives'  letters   are  full  of  grief,   and   he  almost 

*  In  the  Coinnieiitaries  on  St  Augustiiw,  Bk  11.  Cap.  17  (Healey's 
translation),   p.   74. 

-  As  to  the  relation  of  Bude  and  his  wife,  see  the  interesting  account  by 
Vives  in  Vives  and  the  Renascence  Education  of  lVo?nen,  p.   118. 

'■'  It  is  of  Bude  the  story  is  told,  to  illustrate  his  absorption  in  study, 
that  when  some  one  announced  that  his  house  was  on  fire  he  replied  as  he 
went  on  writing:  "Go  and  tell  my  wife,  I  never  interfere  with  household 
affairs." 


Ixxii  Introduction 

suffered  paralysis  of  will  before  the  continued  labour  of  editing 
St  Augustine.  He  fell  into  a  serious  illness  and  was  taken  to 
Bruges  where  he  could  be  treated  as  an  invalid  more  comfort- 
ably "amongst  my  Spanish  countrymen  according  to  their 
custom  and  fashion."  He  was  received  into  the  house  ot  a 
rich  Spanish  merchant,  Pedro  de  Aguirra,  who  treated  him 
as  a  father,  and  after  his  recovery  it  is  said  gave  him  a  house 
fully  furnished  for  his  personal  use'.  Vives  was  convalescent 
in  June  of  this  year,  152 1,  and  stayed  at  Bruges,  to  await  the 
fetes  in  connexion  with  the  visit  of  Cardinal  Wolsey,  who  had 
received  an  invitation  from  Charles  V  to  meet  him  at  Bruges. 
There  is  no  record  of  an  interview  of  Vives  with  Wolsey,  but 
Wolsey  was  ready  to  show  friendly  help  in  the  near  future 
when  Vives  came  to  Oxford.  In  1522  Vives  completed  the 
St  Augustine,  which  he  dedicated  to  King  Henry  VHI,  a  fact 
which,  as  Vanden  Bussche  says,  provoked  the  authorities  at 
Rome  as  much  as  the  work  itself.  Add  to  this,  in  the  Preface, 
he  wrote  one  of  the  most  glowing  recognitions  of  friendship,  and 
one  of  the  most  sincere  and  emphatic  tributes  of  admiration 
for  his  scholarship,  ever  bestowed  on  Erasmus.  These  grounds 
and  the  heterodoxy  in  some  of  his  notes  led  eventually  to  the 
placing  of  the  edition  of  the  St  Augustine  by  Vives  on  the 
Index  of  Prohibited  Books  donee  eorrigatur.  The  irony  was 
complete,  for  no  more  attached  son  of  the  Church  could  be 
found  than  Vives,  though  no  Church  could  constrain  the 
strength  and  freedom  of  his  thought. 

In  1522  the  Duke  of  Alva  charged  a  Dominican  monk 
to  offer  Vives  the  tutorship  of  his  son  at  a  salary  of  two 
hundred  golden  ducats.  The  commission  was  not  fulfilled 
by  the  monk,  and  Vives  was  then  without  financial  resources. 
In  the  meantime  Erasmus  wrote  him  doleful  comments  on 
the    lack    of   sale    of   the   St  Augustine,    informing    him    that 

1  Vanden  Bussche  gives  the  above  particulars,  taken,  he  tells  us,  from 
writing  believed  to  be  in  Vives'  own  hand,  in  a  copy  of  his  work  (the 
de  Officio  Alariti,  published  at  Bruges  1529). 


Juan  Luis  Vives  Ix 


xui 


Froben  reported  that  he  had  attended  Frankfort  book-market 
and  not   a   copy  of   Vives'    Conwientaries  on  the    Civitas  Dei 

had  been  sold^ 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  Vives  came  to  England,  said 
to  have  been  called  thither  by  Wolsey-.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  if  Wolsey  induced  him  to  come  to  England,  the 
project  of  Vives'  visit  was  also  welcomed  by  the  King,  by  Queen 
Catharine  of  Aragon  and  by  Sir  Thomas  More. 

(4)      Vives  in   Oxford  atid  in  London. 

The  earlier  years  of  Vives'  annual  visits  to  England  were 
the  most  glorious  of  his  life.  For  he  lived  in  the  sunlight 
of  a  Court  in  which  Spain  and  the  Spaniards  were  popular. 
He  had  the  pleasant  variety  of  lecturing  in  Oxford,  where 
there  was  all  the  enthusiasm  of  cultured  men  spontaneously 
evoked  by  the  new  foundation  of  Corpus  Christi  College,  and 
in  that  College  he  was  allotted  rooms.  Above  all  he  had  the 
companionship  and  friendship  of  men  like  Sir  Thomas  More 
and  those  congenial  people  whom  the  Chancellor  gathered 
round  his  Chelsea  home. 

The  warm  response  of  King  Henry  VIII  to  the  compliment 
of  the  dedication  by  Vives  of  the  Comtnentaries  on  the  Civitas 
Dei  was  followed  up  by  the  royal  favour.  Henry  VIII  had  been 
trained  as  a  theologian  until  the  death  of  his  brother  Arthur 
brought  him  to  the  throne.  Both  the  King  and  the  Queen 
helped  Vives  financially,  and  gave  him  the  pleasing  task  of 
drawing  up  the  plan  of  education  of  the  Princess  Mary.  The 
loyal  friend  and  patron  of  Erasmus,  William  Blount,  Lord 
Mountjoy,  extended   his   good-will    to   Erasmus'   friend,    and 

'  Erasmus  adds:  "  1  do  not  therefore  look  askance  at  the  matter, 
except  that  the  brevity  which  I  formerly  recommended  you  would  have 
made  the  book  more  saleable."  He  suggests  the  poor  comfort  that  Vives 
should  undertake  an  "  improved  "  edition  of  the  Civitas  Dei. 

2  Vanden  Bussche,  in  La  Flandre,  1876,  p.  312. 


Ixxiv 


IntrodMctio7t 


induced  him  to  write  a  Plan  of  Studies  for  Mountjoy's  son 
Charles '.  Sir  Thomas  More  from  1519"^  onwards  had  been  keenly 
attracted  to  the  writings  of  Vives.  More  was  twelve  years 
younger  than  Erasmus,  and  when  Vives  came  to  London  in 
1523  was  45,  whilst  Vives  was  31  years  of  age.  Vives  had  just 
finished  his  Coinmentaries  on  Si  Augustine's  Civitas  Dei,  a 
work  on  which  More  had  himself  lectured  in  the  Church  of  St 
Lawrence  Old  Jewry  in  London.  Sir  Thomas  More  entered  his 
manor-house  at  Chelsea,  with  its  library,  gallery,  gateway,  and 
garden  reaching  down  to  the  Thames,  in  the  year  of  Vives'  first 
visit.  More's  manor-house  must  have  been  a  home  of  more  than 
usual  fascination  to  Vives.  For  Sir  Thomas  More  knew  the 
life  and  homes  of  Flanders,  and  the  friends  of  Vives  there,  even 
if  he  had  not  previously  met  the  Valencian  himself.  As  long 
ago  as  1508  he  had  visited  Louvain  and  afterwards  stated  his 
opinion  that  with  all  due  respect  to  the  Universities  of  Louvain 
(and  to  Paris),  after  personal  observation  of  their  work,  he 
would  still  prefer  to  send  any  son  of  his  to  Oxford  or  to 
Cambridge.  But  this  was  before  Erasmus  had  acted  as  the 
"promoter"  of  Busleiden's  College  des  Trois  Langues  at 
Louvain''.  In  a  letter  of  15 16  More  informs  Erasmus  that 
he  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  Jerome  Busleiden  at  Mechlin, 
and  that  he  had  been  overwhelmed  with  admiration  at  the 
magnificence   and    taste    with   which    Busleiden's    house   was 

'  Vives'  Plans  of  Studies  {de  l\atio>u'  stiidii  pucrilis),  were  both  written 
in  1523.  Translations  are  given  in  ]'ives  and  the  Kenascence  Education 
of  IVofHcn,  pp.  137-49  and  241-50.  The  Plan  for  the  Princess  Mary  is 
dated  Oxford,  the  Nones  of  Octol>er,  1.^23  ;  that  for  Charles  Blount, 
London,  1523  (no  month  stated). 

'^  See  p.  xxii  supra. 

•^  In  1515,  together  with  Tunstall  and  others,  More  was  sent  on  an 
embassy  to  Flanders  to  the  Archduke  (afterwards  Emperor)  Charles  to 
settle  differences  which  had  arisen  between  London  merchants  and  the 
steelyard  of  foreign  merchants  settled  in  London.  In  15 17  he  was  sent 
on  an  embassy  to  Calais,  and  in  1520  was  at  the  Field  of  the  Cloth  of 
Gold,     In  1 52 1  he  was  abroad  on  an  embassy  to  Bruges  itself. 


Juan  Luis  Vives  Ixxv 

planned  and  built,  its  delightful  furniture,  its  varied  collection 
of  beautiful  objects  of  interest,  its  monumental  antiquities, 
especially  ancient  coins,  and  its  library  crammed  full  of  books. 
But  most  of  all  More  was  amazed  by  Busleiden's  mental 
application,  which  made  him  master  of  more  than  all  his 
books.  The  thought  of  this  Flemish  Maecenas  and  his  cultured 
home  dwelt  with  More  and  found  expression  in  three  Latin 
poems',  and  not  improbably  furnished  him  with  suggestions 
and  stimulus  in  making  the  Chelsea  home  not  merely  "  the 
School  of  More,"  for  his  own  children,  but  also  a  literary 
centre,  which  served  as  the  meeting-place  for  most  of  what 
was  best  in  English  humanistic  scholarship  and  aspirations. 
More's  Utopia  had  been  written  in  1515-16,  and  the  spirit  of 
social  philosophy  permeating  both  More  and  Vives  must  have 
afforded  unusual  opportunity  for  the  recognition  of  common 
sympathies.  The  thought  of  More  was  not  entirely  absent 
from  Vives  when  he  was  writing  on  the  studies  to  be  pursued 
in  the  "Academy,"  for  we  find  the  latter  recommends  the  student 
of  Political  Philosophy  to  read  the  Utopia-  of  Thomas  More, 
together  with  Plato's  Republic  and  Laws.  And  it  is  interesting, 
though  not  without  its  pathos,  to  note  that  in  the  Plati  of 
Studies  he  drew  up  for  the  Princess  Mary,  Vives  suggests  to  her 
the  reading  of  More's  book.  Another  bond  of  union  between 
More  and  Vives  was  their  common  devotion  to  their  hero, 
Erasmus.  But  most  of  all  would  weigh  with  Vives  the 
charming  family  life  and  particularly  the  culture  of  the 
daughters  of  the  household.  In  1523  Margaret  was  18  years 
of  age,  Elizabeth  17,  Cecilia  16,  and  More's  son  was  14  years 
of  age.  Three  years  after  Vives'  arrival  came  Holbein  the 
painter  from  Basle,  warmly  commended  by  Erasmus  and  as 
warmly  received  by   More  into  the   household.      It  is   from 

1  In  More's  Epigrammata,  published  in  his  Complete  Works.  These 
Latin  poems  on  Busleiden  are  reprinted  in  Fi^lix  Aleve's  College  des  7rois 
Langues,  1856,  pp.  384,  385. 

-  p.  260  infra. 


Ixxvi  Introduction 

his  delineations  we  know  so  well  the  outward  features  of  the 
More  family,  and  from  him  we  have  the  priceless  picture  of 
the  family  group.  Colet  and  Grocyn  had  died  by  the  time 
of  Vives'  arrival  in  England,  but  he  probably  met  at  More's 
house  Linacre,  Mountjoy,  William  Latimer,  Lupset,  Elyot, 
Croke,  Reginald  Pole,  John  Fisher,  John  Longland  bishop 
of  Lincoln,  Cuthbert  Tunstall,  and  John  Leland.  Vives,  too, 
must  there  have  met  Richard  Hyrde,  who  left  Oxford  about 
1519  and  became  a  tutor  in  More's  household.  Vives  had  been 
at  work  on  a  book  commissioned  by  Queen  Catharine,  the 
Institution  of  a  Christian  Woman,  before  he  reached  England. 
He  had  finished  it  April  5,  1523.  It  had  been  published  at 
Antwerp  in  Latin.  Queen  Catharine  was  greatly  interested 
in  it,  and  desired  Sir  Thomas  More  to  write  a  translation 
of  it  into  English.  More  was  anxious  to  undertake  the  work, 
but  his  Chancellor's  duties  left  him  little  time.  Curiously 
enough  the  Queen's  arrangement  with  More  to  provide  an 
English  translation  of  Vives'  book  was  unknown  to  Richard 
Hyrde,  who  had  been  so  impressed  by  Vives'  views  on  women's 
education  that,  on  his  own  initiative,  he  had  devoted  himself  to 
providing  an  English  translation,  and  on  its  completion  consulted 
More  on  what  he  had  done.  More  gladly  yielded  to  Hyrde, 
but  agreed  to  read  over  and  "correct"  Hyrde's  manuscript. 
The  translation  (posthumously)  published  in  Hyrde's  name, 
therefore,  must  be  recognised  as  having  received  both  the 
general  approval  and  the  corrections  of  Sir  Thomas  More'. 
The  names  of  Vives  and  More  are  thus  closely  linked  in 
literary  associations,  with  Queen  Catharine  in  the  background 
— the  instigator  and  encourager  of  this  work  on  the  education 
of  women. 

Vives  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  Mores'  household  with 
his  characteristic  readiness  to  respond  to  all  simple  and  sincere 

^  For  a  fuller  account,  and  for  Hyrde's  translation,  of  Vives'  lustitutiou 
of  a  Christiafi  lVo?)taf!,  see  I'ives  and  the  Renascence  Education  of  Wo?nen 
(Educational  Classics  Series.    London:  Arnold,  1912).    See  especially  p.  31. 


Juan  Luis  Vives  Ixxvii 

life.  The  nobility  of  the  Chelsea  School  of  More  silenced  the 
cavils  and  cynicism  of  the  most  callous  and  flinty  of  worldly- 
minded  men ;  in  Vives  respect  for  More's  family  became 
another  rooted  affection.  In  1536,  his  work  on  letter-writing ^ 
includes  a  letter  to  More,  in  which  Vives  sends  his  salutations 
and  asks  for  his  heartiest  greetings  to  be  passed  on  to  More's 
children,  and  especially  he  adds  to  my  "  Margaret  Roper,  whom 
since  the  time  you  first  brought  me  to  know  her,  I  have  not 
loved  less  than  if  she  were  my  very  own  sister^" 

It  seems  to  have  been  due  to  Wolsey  that  Vives  was  called 
to  Oxford,  where  he  was  already  in  residence  in  Sept.  1523. 
Vives  was  evidently  in  his  element  at  Corpus  Christi  College 
on  the  new  foundation  there  of  Bishop  Fox.  He  would  be 
happy  in  entering  into  the  spirit  of  Fox  who  had  designed  his 
college  in  15 17  to  be  a  "bee-garden,  wherein  scholars  like 
ingenious  bees  are  by  day  and  night  to  make  wax  to  the 
honour  of  God,  and  honey-dropping  sweetness,  to  the  profit 
of  themselves  and  all  Christians."  Vives  seems  to  have  been 
appointed  to  a  University  Lectureship  in  Rhetoric  in  succession 
to  Thomas  Lupset,  who  had  also  been  lodged  in  Corpus  Christi 
College'.  Vives  duly  continued  and  indeed  added  to  the 
symbolism  of  the  bees,  for  we  are  told  that  the  bees  had 
swarmed  about  his  chamber  and  had  associated  such  a  tradi- 
tion around  Vives,  who  became  known  by  the  name  of  the 
."  mellifluous  doctor,"  that  for  more  than  a  century  the  bees 
were  left  undisturbed  to  a  permanent  heritage  of  the  roof 
over  what  had  been  Vives'  study*. 


1  Vives'  de  Coiiscribeiidis  Epistolis,  together  with  a  work  on  the  same 
subject  by  Erasmus,  was  published  at  Basle  in  1536. 

2  Opera  II.  308. 

^  For  the  details  of  Vives'  connexion  with  Corpus  Christi  College  see 
P.  S.  Allen,  Ludovicus  Vives  at  Corpus  in  the  Pelican  Record,  Dec.  1902. 

■♦  Vives  carried  away  the  recollection  of  the  bee  simile,  and  used  it  in 
his  work  :  see  p.  55,  end  of  paragraph,  and  p.  1 79,  line  i .  In  the  frontispiece 
of  this  book,  at  the  top  comers  the  bees  are  again  associated  with  him. 


Ixxviii  Introduction 

In  the  year  (1523)  from  Oxford,  besides  the  two  Plans  of 
Studies  already  mentioned,  Vives  wrote  the  de  Coiisultatione, 
the  work  from  which  Ben  Jonson  helped  himself  so  liberally 
in  writing  on  literary  criticism.  This  was  written  by  Vives 
at  the  request  of  Louis  de  Flandre,  the  Seigneur  de  Priiet, 
ambassador  from  the  Court  of  Charles  V,  who  was  in  Oxford 
at  the  time'.  De  Praet  was  from  1522  onwards  a  magistrate  of 
Bruges  and  suggested  to  Vives  that  he  should  write  on  Poor- 
Relief"',  a  suggestion  which  bore  fruit  in  1526.  It  is  probable 
that  Vives  also  met  at  Oxford  the  group  of  men  interested 
in  Spanish  studies''  such  as  Sir  Richard  Morison  and  Thomas 
Paynell.  John  Twyne,  one  of  the  early  Elizabethan  antiquaries, 
was  a  student  under  Vives  whilst  he  was  at  Corpus  Christi 
College  ^ 

Vives'  relations  with  Cardinal  Wolsey  were  unbrokenly 
pleasant.  In  the  first  year  at  Oxford  Vives,  who  did  not 
easily  forget  benefits  or  kindness  received,  dedicated  his 
translation  from  the  Greek  to  Latin  of  two  orations  of 
Isocrates*  to  the  great  Cardinal,  from  whom,  says  Vives, 
"  I  have  never  come  away  empty-handed  {indonatus)  and 
whose  kindness  and  good-will  to  students  are  'incredible.'" 

But  this  sense  of  universal  good-will  and  protectiveness 
from  all  Oxford  and  London,  15  2  2-1 5  28,  was  counter- 
balanced by  the  drawbacks  of  residence  in  England,  only 
too  painful  for  a  true  son  of  the  South.  When  in  attendance 
on  the  Court  in  London  he  had  poor,  uncomfortable  lodgings 

^  Vanden  Bussche,  p.  313. 

-  See  p.  Ixiv  supra. 

■*  J.  G.  Underhill,  Spanish  Literature  in  the  England  of  the  TuJors, 
pp.  88-103.  Morison  translated  the  pupil's  text-book  of  maxims  of 
culture  and  religion  by  Vives  called  the  Tntrodtiction  to  Wisdom  c.  1540, 
and  Paynell  translated  Vives'  Office  and  Duties  of  an  Husband  in  154O. 
Both  books  were  written  in  Latin.  Underhill  says  that  Morison  and 
Paynell  were  students  in  Oxford  at  the  time  that  Vives  was  lecturing  there. 

■*  Woodrufie  and  Cape,  Schola  Regia  Cantuariensis,  pp.  60-61. 

■^  The  Areopagitica  and  Nicocles, 


Juan  Luis  Vives  Ixxix 

at  a  distance  from  the  Palace,  so  that  his  time  was  taken  up 
in  walking  and  petty  employments,  and  studies  became  im- 
possible. Life  in  his  London  lodgings,  he  has  to  admit,  is 
wearisome  in  the  extreme.  Besides  the  discomforts  of  his 
rooms,  the  uncertainties  of  the  English  rains  and  fogs  must 
have  sorely  preyed  upon  the  Valencian  whilst  in  London  and 
Oxford'.  But  these  drawbacks  were  only  occasional  and 
were  minimised  by  the  conditions  of  his  occupations  at  Oxford 
and  in  London  which  permitted  him  to  spend  part  of  the  year 
in  Bruges'".  On  the  whole  Vives  must  have  taken  away  with 
him  many  happy  recollections  of  England. 

Already  we  have  seen^  that  Vives'  expulsion  from  England 
was  inevitable  when  the  King  became  bent  on  his  divorce 
from  Catharine  of  Aragon.  Vives  had  had  the  happiness  of 
intercourse  with,  and  much  graciousness  from,  the  Spanish  prin- 
cess for  seven  or  eight  years.  He  had  had  actual  beneficence 
extended  to  him  from  her  even  before  he  met  her.  It  has 
been  suggested^  that  Vives  was  the  private  secretary  of  Queen 
Catharine,  but  there  is  no  direct  evidence  on  the  point.  What- 
ever the  exact  official  relation  was  their  close  friendliness  is 
undoubted.  Thus  in  a  letter*  Vives  mentions  that  he  had 
accompanied  the  Queen  Catharine  from  Richmond  to  Sionl? 
where   she  was  going  to    her  sacred  devotions,   and   in    the 

^  Vives  says  in  a  letter  dated  Oxford,  March  lo,  1524 (?),  "Here  the 
sky  is  windy,  thick,  humid,  and  the  kinds  of  food  different  from  what 
I  am  accustomed  to.  As  for  the  rest  all  is  prosperous,  thank  God. 
My  princes  are  loving,  smile  upon  me,  and  show  real  kindness."  Opera 
VII.   197. 

2  Erasmus  puts  it  humorously,  calling  Vives  ftDoc  aficpi^Lov,  an  am- 
phibious animal,  at  one  lime  swimming  amongst  the  Britons,  at  another 
making  a  nest  amongst  the  people  of  Bruges  (in  a  letter  15  Oct.  1527). 

•*  p.  xxviii  supra. 

^  A.  Lange,  p.  795. 

^  Vives  Aegidio  Gualopo  suo  (to  Giles  Wallop),  Opera  vii.  p.  208. 

"  I.e.  the  Convent  of  the  Order  of  S.  Bridget  in  Sion  House,  Isleworth, 
near  the  Thames,  ten  miles  from  London.  For  a  full  account  see  G.  J. 
Aungier,  T/ic  History  and  Aiitiqiiities  of  Syon  Monastery  etc.  1840. 


Ixxx  Introduction 

course  of  the  Queen's  conversation  she  expressed  a  concern  for 
the  good  of  Wallop.  And  again,  in  a  text-book^  written  for 
the  Princess  Mary,  Vives  says  to  her :  "  I  remember  your 
mother,  a  most  wise  woman,  said  to  me  as  we  came  back 
by  boat,  from  Sion  to  Richmond,  that  she  preferred  moderate 
and  steady  fortune  to  great  ups  and  downs  of  rough  and  smooth. 
But  if  she  had  to  choose  one  or  the  other,  she  stated  that  she 
would  elect  the  saddest  of  lots  rather  than  the  most  flattering 
fortune,  because  in  the  midst  of  unhappiness  consolation  can 
be  sought,  whilst  sound  judgment  often  disappears  from  those 
who  have  the  greatest  prosperity." 

We  thus  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  conununings  of  the  Queen 
and  Vives.  The  intercourse  was  destined  to  an  abrupt  end. 
Vives  wrote  in  1531  to  his  Spanish  friend  Juan  Vergara : 
"There  has  been  a  great  change  for  me  in  Britain...!  joined 
myself  to  the  Queen... I  bore  her  all  the  help  I  could  by  word 
of  mouth  and  by  writing.  This  course  offended  the  mind  of 
the  King  so  far  that  he  ordered  me  to  be  detained  for  six 
weeks  /;/  libera  cusiodia,  whence  I  was  dismissed  on  the 
condition  that  I  would  not  engage  myself  in  the  Royal 
dispute.  So  as  I  was  free,  I  thought  it  wisest  to  return  home 
,[to  Bruges],  and  this  the  Queen  advised  me  to  do  by  papers 
sent  secretly.  After  some  months  Cardinal  Campeggio  was 
sent  into  Britain  as  the  judge  of  the  case  [i.e.  in  1528].  The 
King  in  a  great  hurry  sent  to  tell  the  Queen  to  seek  her 
councillors  and  advocates  for  pleading  her  side  of  the  case 
before  the  said  Campeggio  and  the  English  Cardinal  [Wolsey]. 
The  Queen  summoned  me  to  her  presence.  I  said  it  was 
not  expedient  for  her  to  be  defended  before  that  tribunal  by 
anybody,  that  it  would  be  better  to  be  condemned  unheard 
than  to  accept  the  delusive  pretence  of  such  a  trial,  that  the 
King  was  merely  seeking  a  pretext  with  which  to  put  a  face 
on  before  his  people,  and  to  make  it  appear  that  the  Queen 
was  given  a  chance  of  defence,  and  that  for  the  rest  he  did 
'  The  Satellitinm  Animi,  Bruges,  1524. 


Juan  Luis  Vives  Ixxxi 

not  greatly  care.  The  Queen  was  then  angry  with  me  that 
I  had  not  immediately  obeyed  her  will  rather  than  my  own 
judgment.  But  to  me  my  judgment  is  worth  all  the  princes 
there  are.  And  thus  the  King  held  me  as  his  enemy  and  the 
Queen  regarded  me  as  dilatory  and  refractory.  And  both  of 
them  have  taken  away  my  salary." 

We  have  seen  the  friendly  relations  of  Catharine  and  Vives, 
the  two  Spaniards,  the  Queen  and  the  Valencian  scholar,  not 
unlike  the  relations  of  Queen  Elizabeth  and  Roger  Ascham. 
When  Ascham  died  the  Queen  declared  she  would  rather 
have  thrown  ten  thousand  pounds  into  the  sea  than  have 
lost  her  Ascham.  When  Vives  left  England,  having  lost 
Catharine's  pension  and  her  friendship,  it  would  be  hard  to 
guess  which  felt  the  wrench  more  bitterly,  the  woman  who 
asked  his  help  or  the  man  who  thought  the  kind  of  help 
asked  for  was  unwise  to  give  or  receive.  Whether  Vives' 
judgment  was  right  as  to  the  best  course  to  adopt  with  regard 
to  Campeggio's  tribunal  or  not,  he  was  sincerely  convinced 
as  to  the  futility,  and  worse  than  futility,  of  defence.  He  was 
not  lacking  in  loyalty  or  affection,  for  the  next  year,  in 
1529^  he  wrote  of  Catharine:  "If  such  incredible  virtue 
(as  Catharine's)  had  fortuned  when  honour  was  the  reward 
of  virtue,  this  woman  had  dusked  the  brightness  of  the  heroes, 
and  as  a  divine  thing  and  a  godly,  sent  down  from  heaven, 
had  been  prayed  unto  in  temples ;  for  there  cannot  be  erected 
unto  her  a  more  magnificent  temple  than  that  which  every 
man  among  all  nations,  marvelling  at  her  virtues,  have,  in 
their  own  hearts,  builded  and  erected." 

Was  nobler  admiration  from  any  man  ever  poured  forth  on 
a  woman  who  a  year  before  had  withdrawn  her  pension  from 
him,  especially  when  we  recall  the  fact  that  the  writer,  in  the 
meantime,  was  on  the  verge  of  starvation.     Vives  had  still  the 

1  In  the  de  Officio  Mariti.     See  Vives  and  the  Renascence  Education  of 
Women,  p.  11. 

F.  W.  / 


1 X  X  X  i  i  Introduction 

refuge   of   his   home   and    friends   at    Bruges,   the   city   which 
Erasmus  described  as  "  prolific  in  minds  worthy  of  Attica." 

(5)     Back  to  Bruges. 

Vives  was  a  citizen  of  Bruges  in  a  degree  to  which  he 
could  not  belong  to  London  or  Oxford.  Vanden  Bussche 
discovered  that  he  attended  the  meetings  of  the  Guild  of 
Saint-Luc,  and  amongst  the  fraternity  made  many  friends. 
It  is  said'  that  a  member  who  entered  this  Guild  in  1528, 
by  name  Jan  van  Wynsberghe,  painted  a  portrait  of  Vives. 
If  so,  this  is  possibly  the  source  of  the  engraving  by  Edmond 
de  Boulonois,  on  which  so  many  later  engravings  of  Vives 
were  based,  including  the  frontispiece  to  this  book.  Vanden 
Bussche  has  identified  the  sites  of  Vives'  Bruges  residences, 
the  first  being  in  the  rue  du  Pont  flamand,  and  the  second  in 
the  Lange  Winckel  near  the  warehouse  reserved  for  the 
Spanish  merchants. 

On  one  of  the  visits  to  Bruges,  having  first  spent  part  of 
the  year  in  England,  on  May  26,  1524,  Vives  was  married 
to  Margaret  Valdaura,  daughter  of  Bernard  Valdaura,  already 
mentioned  as  a  relative,  on  the  mother's  side,  of  Vives.  Vives 
was  32  and  his  wife  19  years  of  age.  Few  details  of  Margaret 
are  known.  The  inscription  on  the  tablet  (in  St  Donatian's 
Church,  Bruges)  to  her  memory  says  she  was  of  rare  purity, 
and  very  like  {shnillima)  her  husband  in  all  her  gifts  of  mind, 
and  that  she  was  an  ornament  amongst  women.  She  survived 
her  husband  twelve  years,  dying  in  1552.  Both  the  family  of 
Bernard  Valdaura,  her  father,  and  that  of  his  wife,  Clara 
Cervent,  have  been  traced  to  a  probable  Valencian  origin. 
Clara  Cervent  has  been  justly  placed  by  Vives  amongst  heroic 
women.      At   18  years  of  age  she  married  Valdaura,  a  man 

^  Vanden  Bussche  in  La  Flandre,  1876,  p.  309,  states  that  the  story 
comes  from  Cornil  Breydel,  monk  of  the  Abbey  of  Saint-Bavon,  who  may 
have  had  it  from  Margaret  Valdaura,  Vives'  wife. 


Juan  Luis  Vives  Ixxxiii 

of  46.  Her  husband  was  attacked  by  a  loathsome  disease. 
Physicians  despaired  of  his  life  and  advised  his  wife  to  pass 
over  attendance  on  him  to  nurses  for  fear  of  infection,  but 
Clara  (and  her  mother  joined  her  in  the  task)  nursed  Valdaura, 
never  resting  at  night  for  more  than  from  one  to  three  hours, 
and  even  then  in  their  clothes,  and  eventually  plucked  him 
from  death,  only  for  him  to  relapse  into  another  long  disease, 
which  lasted  for  nearly  seven  years.  Altogether  for  ten  years, 
out  of  twenty  years  of  married  life  she  completely  forgot 
herself  and  was  absorbed  in  tending  personally  on  the  "doleful" 
body  of  her  husband  whom  others  shunned.  It  was  to  be 
near  such  a  woman  that  Vives  had  himself  removed  to 
Bruges  when  he  fell  ill  at  Louvain,  and  his  reverence  for  the 
wifely  love  which  found  its  only  possible  satisfaction  in  utter 
self-devotion  stirred  him  deeply.  His  earliest  days  at  Bruges  had 
been  passed  in  the  Valdaura  household.  At  that  time  Margaret 
was  a  child  of  nine,  and  Vives  must  have  watched  her  progress 
through  the  ten  years  until  she  became  his  wife  with  that  par- 
ticular interest  which  a  scholar  and  educationist  manifests  in  the 
development  of  a  child  whose  parents  are  his  especial  friends. 
The  sense  of  security  for  his  affections  was  doubly  guaranteed. 
His  wife  was  part  of  the  sanctities  of  life  in  having  such  a 
mother.  This  feeling  established  itself  in  the  current  of  his 
thought.  In  1529,  in  his  book  on  the  Office  and  Duties  of  an 
Husband,  within  five  years  after  his  marriage  with  Margaret, 
in  his  list  of  saints,  by  the  side  of  St  Agnes,  St  Catharine, 
St  Margaret,  St  Barbara,  etc.,  for,  as  it  were,  a  revised  book 
of  saints,  he  included,  we  have  seen,  the  names  of  Queen 
Catharine  of  Aragon  and  his  own  mother  Blanca  March,  and 
in  this  same  list  of  those  worthy  of  saint-hood  is  included  the 
name  also  of  Clara  Cervent. 

Bruges  was  again,  in  fact,  his  unfailing  home,  when  the 
English  storm-centre  of  the  Royal  Divorce  made  removal 
from  England  necessary  in  1528.  There  are  indications  that 
Vives  was  concerned   in   business  transactions  whilst  serving 

f2 


Ixxxiv  Introduction 

King  Henry.  For  instance,  licences  were  granted  him  to 
import  300  tuns  of  Gascon  wine  and  Toulouse  woad  into  any 
part  of  the  king's  dominions,  excepting  Calais,  for  three  years' ; 
and  later  he  held  a  licence  to  export  100  quarters  of  corn". 
These  may  have  been  commissions  secured  by  Vives  for  his 
Spanish  merchant  friends  at  Bruges.  It  is  not  clear  how  Vives 
managed  to  pay  the  expenses  of  his  wife  and  the  home  at 
Bruges.  The  details  of  his  literary  activity  seem  to  leave  little 
possibility  for  him  to  have  engaged  in  outside  work,  though 
he  earned  but  very  slight  remuneration  by  his  writings.  The 
supposition  that  his  wife  took  up  some  remunerative  occupation 
is  not  unlikely,  for  the  Valdaura  family,  with  the  permanent 
invalid,  had  had  no  sources  of  income  as  far  as  is  known.  In 
the  family  there  were  Margaret's  sister  Maria,  and  three  brothers, 
the  eldest  Bernard,  then,  Nicholas^  well  known  later  as  a 
physician,  and  a  third  brother,  to  provide  for ;  there  must  have 
been  means  for  their  support  whilst  young,  the  result  of  some- 
one's earnings.  The  only  available  earners,  as  far  as  can  be 
seen,  were  Margaret  and  her  mother,  by  this  time  a  widow. 
Vives  himself  bears  witness  that  the  three  years  immediately 
after  his  expulsion  from  England,  1 528-1 531,  were  years  of 
great  privation  at  home,  and  that  it  could  only  have  been  by 
a  special  Providence  that  they  did  not  die  of  hunger  ^ 

During  this  beclouded  period  of  his  life  is  to  be  placed 
the  interesting  story  of  annual  visits  paid  by  Ignatius  Loyola 
to  Bruges,  whilst  he  was  a  student  at  Paris,  between  1528  and 
1534,  so  as  to  beg  alms  from  his  compatriots,  the  Spanish 
merchants ^     We  hear  of  Vives  inviting  the  future  founder 

1  Calendar-  of  State  Papers  {Foreign  and  Domestic)  of  reign  of 
Henry  VIII,  No.   1293.     Date  28  April,   1526. 

-  Ibid.,  No.  1298.     Dated  16  Henry  VIII. 

^  Vives  wrote  a  letter  of  commendation  for  Nicholas  to  Bude  at  Paris 
when  the  youth  was  entering  as  a  student  of  medicine.  The  letter  is 
undated  but  internal  evidence  shows  it  was  after  1529. 

•*  Letter  to  Vergara,  Opera  VII.  p.  148. 

^  The  incident  is  described  by  the  biographers  of  Loyola,  Ribadeneira 


ftian   Litis  Vives  Ixxxv 

of  the  Society  of  Jesus  to  breakfast  (though  hospitality  in 
the  midst  of  his  poverty  must  indeed  have  made  the  incident 
conspicuous  to  Vives),  and  the  remark  of  Vives  to  a  friend  is 
recorded:  "This  man  is  a  saint,  who  will,  of  a  surety,  found 
an  Order."  This  account  has  sufficient  validity  on  its  face, 
especially  as  it  comes  from  the  Jesuits  themselves,  to  justify 
the  idea  that  Loyola  may  have  received  inspiration,  and  even 
suggestions  in  the  construction  of  an  educational  plan  for 
schools,  from  Vives.  For  in  these  years  Vives  was  un- 
doubtedly engaged  in  thinking  out  the  problems  of  education. 
The  results  of  his  educational  studies  were  issued  in  1531 
in  the  de  Disciplims,  which  not  only  was  his  own  greatest 
contribution  to  educational  thought,  but,  on  the  whole,  was 
probably  the  most  stimulative  and  progressive  pedagogical 
work  produced  up  to  that  date^ 

Vives  had  written  on  Poor-relief  with  keen  sympathy  in 
1526,  but  with  little  anticipation  that  he  was  to  experience 
in  his  own  person  two  years  later  something  of  the  sufferings 
of  the  poor  which  he  had  so  realistically  described.  On  the 
appearance  of  this  book  on  Poor-relief  ihe  College  des  Echevins 
of  Bruges  had  presented  Vives  with  a  silver  cup,  and  his  book 
had  been  translated  from  the  Latin  into  the  vernacular  at  the 
expense  of  the  town  authorities.  But  these  marks  of  esteem 
had  not  paved  the  way  to  any  means  of  securing  a  settled 
income. 

These  years  (15 28-1531)  of  darkest  financial  gloom  are 
marked  by  incessant  intellectual  work.  Vives  duly  paid  his 
debt  of  gratitude  to  Catharine  of  Aragon  in  the  de  Officio 
MaritP  in  1529.  This  book  was  written  in  response  to  the 
request  of  Alvaro  de  Castro,  a  Spaniard  of  Bruges,  who,  in 

1572,  Garcia  1722,  and  Mariani  1842;  and  Ijy  historians  of  the  Order, 
F.   Sacchini  1842  and  Genelli  1848. 

^  For  the  points  in  common  between  the  educational  views  and  the 
Jesuit  educational  system,  see  Lange,  p.  843  el  seqq. 

^  See  p.  Ixiv  supra. 


Ixxxvi  Introduction 

1523,  was  a  friend  and  fellow-lodger  of  Vives  in  his  London 
lodgings.  After  de  Castro  had  read  Vives'  Institution  of  a 
Christian  Woman,  he  had  eagerly  urged  him  to  supplement 
that  work  by  writing  on  the  duties  of  a  husband.  Vives  then 
sketched  the  plan  of  the  work  and  wrote  out  the  chief  portions 
of  it  in  Spanish,  as  de  Castro's  acquaintance  with  Latin  was 
only  slight.  He  took  up  this  manuscript  again  in  1528  and 
translated  and  completed  the  work  in  Latin.  Vives  dedicated 
the  book  to  Francis  Borgia',  Duke  of  Gandia,  a  Spaniard  of 
Vives'  own  province  of  Valencia,  who  was  in  high  esteem  with 
the  Emperor  Charles  V.  Borgia  was  particularly  drawn  to  the 
Valencians  in  Bruges,  of  whom  Vives  mentions  in  his  dedication 
Juan  Andres  Straneus,  Honoratus  Joannius.  It  is  said  that 
Borgia  acted  generously  to  Vives  in  recognition  of  this  dedica- 
tion, though  details  are  not  mentioned. 

In  1528,  in  the  midst  of  the  unhappy  retirement  from  the 
service  of  the  English  Court,  came  a  sign  of  growing  coolness 
from  his  honoured  teacher  and  friend,  Erasmus.  Certainly 
Erasmus  was  unfortunate  in  the  moments  at  which  he  offered 
adverse  intelligence,  or  worse,  adverse  criticisms,  to  Vives. 
Whilst  Vives  was  still  in  depression',  due  to  the  reaction  over 
the  strain  of  forced  labour  on  the  Commentaries  on  St  Augustine's 
Civitas  Dei  in  response  to  the  urgent  requests  of  Erasmus  to 
bring  the  work  to  a  speedy  conclusion,  the  latter  had  com- 
municated to  Vives  Froben's  statement  that  not  a  copy  could 
be  disposed  of  at  Frankfort  Fair,  and  this  had  suggested  some 
reflexion  on  the  reputation  of  Vives.  As  to  the  question  of  sales, 
Vives  replied  (May  10,  1523)  that  he  knew  Froben  had  sold  very 

>  Charles  V  made  Borgia  Viceroy  of  Catalonia,  bul  on  ihe  death  ot  his 
wife  he  withdrew  from  the  world,  entering  the  newly  founded  order  of  the 
Jesuits,  of  which,  against  his  desire,  he  was  made  general. 

-  Vives  had  told  Erasmus,  as  he  sent  the  last  portion  of  the  Com- 
mentarics  in  July,  1522,  that  his  whole  body  was  enfeebled,  his  nerves' 
depressed,  and  on  his  head  "there  seemed  to  be  placed  the  intolerable 
weight  of  ten  towers." 


Juan  Luis  Vives  Ixxxvii 

many  copies.  "I  know,"  he  adds,  "who  have  bought  them." 
For  instance,  "  within  a  few  days  over  thirty  had  been  sold  in 
London."  As  to  his  reputation  Vives  says,  "  no  one  is  more  con- 
scious of  my  literary  shortcomings  than  I  am  myself,  nor  is  any 
one  less  inclined  to  conceal  them.  I  am  often  astonished  to 
find  myself  so  favourably  regarded  as  I  am."  He  goes  on  to 
say  that  even  if  he  were  able  to  write  the  greatest  marvels  of 
scholarship,  he  should  still  recognise  that  it  would  be  owing  to 
a  certain  gift  of  genius  by  which  life  is  breathed  into  literary 
productions,  and  would  not  be  due  to  any  merit  in  himself 
personally.  "  When  a  man  has  had  literary  work  placed  in 
his  hands,  he  acts  wisely  if  he  performs  it  with  the  utmost 
industry  and  carefulness.  He  should  then  submit  himself 
with  equanimity  to  the  accidental  fortune  of  reputation." 
If  only  he  may  pursue  the  true  path  of  erudition  and  wisdom, 
Vives  is  content  to  be  obscure.  He  declares  he  now  sees  things 
more  clearly  than  previously,  and  that  he  has  written  a  book 
for  the  Queen  of  England  which  will  at  least  show  the  healthi- 
ness of  purpose,  and  not  the  betrayal  of  himself  by  his  voice 
like  a  shrew-mouse,  or  the  shaking  of  dice  to  try  his  fortune 
and  gain  reputation. 

That  Erasmus  was  really  attached  to  Vives  there  is  no 
need  to  doubt.  He  wished  his  old  pupil  to  come  to  the 
high  reputation  to  which  he  was  justly  entitled.  Erasmus 
made  a  mistake  in  accepting  Froben's  practical  estimate 
instead  of  judging  the  book  on  its  merits,  a  judgment  which, 
had  it  been  delivered  de  plein  cmur,  favourable  or  unfavour- 
able, would  have  brought  deep  satisfaction  to  A^'ives^  In 
fact  Vives'  Commentaries  on  St  Augustine  were  a  considerable 
success.  By  1661  the  large  folio  had  actually  passed  through 
sixteen  editions.  It  may  safely  be  said  to  have  been,  in  actual 
circulation,  more   successful  than  even  Erasmus'  St  Jerome. 

^  As  he  said  himself  in  a  letter  :  "  I  do  not  seek  any  other  glory  than 
to  please  you  and  others  like  you,  if  there  are  such. ...One  Plato  is  for  me 
worth  the  whole  of  the  people  of  Athens." 


Ixxxviii  Introduction 

As  the  adviser  of  Froben  the  publisher,  Erasmus  was,  no 
doubt,  disturbed  by  his  adverse  report,  and  probably  much  more 
hurt  on  account  of  the  blow  that  it  would  be  to  Vives.  But 
Erasmus  had  little  self-restraint  in  mentioning  unpleasant  facts. 
He  probably  thought  that  Vives  had  far  more  modesty  than  was 
good  for  him,  and  in  short  that  he  ought  to  be  roused  from 
despondency  by  the  sense  of  the  necessity  of  attaining  to  the 
highest  glory  of  literary  position,  from  which  Erasmus  genuinely 
felt  Vives  was  only  withheld  by  his  own  self-questionings. 

The  annoyance  of  Erasmus  with  his  friend  continued. 
When  the  Instihition  of  a  Christian  Woman  appeared  he 
took  the  opportunity  once  more  to  write  to  Vives  for  what 
he  considered  to  be  his  good\  'He  complains  with  regard  to 
that  work  that  the  style  is  too  extemporaneous.  The  treatment 
of  married  women  is  somewhat  severe ;  Erasmus  hopes  Vives 
is  more  gracious  to  his  own  wife.  Lastly,  the  favourable 
mention  of  Vives'  relatives  is  undesirable ;  other  people  must 
not  be  expected  to  like  it.  Vives  replies  that  he  had  aimed 
at  intelligibility  rather  than  ornaments  of  style,  because  he 
was  writing  to  women  untrained  in  scholarship.  If  he  had 
treated  women  too  severely,  had  not  Erasmus  set  him  an 
example  in  the  restoration  of  St  Jerome's  works  ?  As  to  the 
other  criticism  Vives  remarks,  "Thrice  altogether  I  have 
noticed  members  of  my  own  family....!  was  persuaded  to  say 
what  I  did  from  its  truth,  and  because,  in  my  opinion,  these 
examples  are  as  worthy  of  narrative  as  the  stories  of  women 
handed  down  to  memory  to  us  by  others  of  long  ago'"."  But 
he  is  unshaken  in  his  friendship,  and  asks  Erasmus  to  continue 
his  criticisms.  "  There  is  nothing  more  blessed  in  life  than  to 
have  a  wise  friend  as  one's  admonitor." 

Nevertheless,  Vives  was  travelling  in  a  direction  taking  him 
farther  away  from  Erasmus,  who  seems  to  have  felt  that  the 

1  Erasmi  Epistolae,  1642  ed.,  column  835. 

-  Opera  \\\.  p.  186.     The  letter  is  dated  Bruges,  St  Margaret's  Day, 

1527- 


Jjiau  Luis  Vives  Ixxxix 

Valencian  had  conducted  his  English  court  affairs  as  badly  as 
he  had  lapsed  in  his  literary  aspirations'.  In  England  Vives 
had  kept  up  a  pleasant  correspondence  with  Erasmus,  treasuring 
points  of  interest  to  him  and  including  them  in  his  letters. 
"Claymund  and  the  best  men  of  the  University  of  Oxford 
send  you  their  greetings."  He  has  heard  nothing  with  more 
pleasure  for  a  long  time  than  that  Spanish  compatriots  find 
delight  in  Erasmus'  works.  The  King  has  been  reading 
Erasmus'  book  on  Free  Will,  in  answer  to  Luther,  and 
manifested  complete  pleasure,  especially  in  a  passage  which 
he  pointed  out.  The  Queen  also  was  marvellously  pleased, 
and  characteristically  ordered  a  greeting  "  to  be  written  to  you 
in  her  own  words."  The  King  has  a  commission  for  Erasmus 
to  write  annotations  on  the  Psalms.  Linacre  has  just  died. 
His  book,  however,  is  published  and  in  it  he  mentions  the 
name  of  Erasmus,  whence  "you  may  see  he  not  only  loved 
but  also  revered  you."     And  so  on. 

Yet  when  Erasmus  published  his  Ciceronianus,  in  1528, 
he  included  the  names  of  those  contemporary  writers  whom 
he  regarded  as  the  lights  of  the  age  for  their  ability  in  writing. 
He  omitted  the  name  of  Vives  at  the  time  when  his  untoward 
English  experiences  must  have  made  the  omission  particularly 
painful.  Ursinus  Velius  expostulated  with  Erasmus  on  the 
lack  of  reference  to  Vives.  Whereupon  Erasmus  wrote  to 
Vives  and  assured  him  that  the  omission  of  his  name  was 
"an  oversight."  He  asks  Vives  to  accept  his  old  age  and 
his  pressure  of  duties  as  the  reasons  for  the  oversight,  and 
consoles  him  by  saying  that  he  had  been  more  fortunate  in 
"  forgetting "  Vives  than  in  "  remembering  Bade,  for  the 
Budaeans    are    raging"."      Vives    replies^   that    there    is    no 

1  Erasmus  carefully  avoided  offering  any  decisive  opinion  as  to  the 
divorce  question,  either  before  or  after  its  settlement,  and  probably 
regarded  Vives  as  an  imprudent  literary  man  in  taking  Catharine's  part. 

2  Erasmi  Epistolae,  1642,  col.  1044,  dated  Calends  of  September  1528. 
Erasmus  was  6?  years  of  age  at  that  time. 

3  Opera  vii.  191,  dated  from  Bruges,  Calends  of  Oct.  1528. 


xc  Tntrodttction 

wonder  that  Erasmus  should  have  forgotten  him  when  he 
had  so  many  names  and  matters  in  his  mind,  and  even  if 
he  had  passed  him  by  deliberately  he  would  not  have  com- 
plained, "since  I  have  discovered  that  nothing  has  been  done 
by  you  to  me  with  hostile  mind." 

Vives  has  found  rest  in  a  view  of  lift;  in  which  fame  is  not 
an  essential  element.  He  tells  Erasmus  :  "  I  would  prefer  to 
be  of  real  service  to  one  or  two  in  promoting  their  virtue  than 
to  have  a  reputation,  however  great,  without  rendering  service 
thereby  to  others. ...I  ask  you,  my  teacher,  after  this,  not  to 
attempt  to  urge  me  on  to  personal  reputation  or  glory.  For 
I  solemnly  state  that  these  aims  move  me  less  than  you  would 
believe.  /  set  my  great  store  by  the  public  good.  Most  keenly 
would  I  advance  that  good  in  any  way  I  could.  Those  are  the 
fortunate  people,  in  my  opinion.,  7vho  are  serviceable  in  that 
matter^  r 

This  was  the  parting  of  the  ways.  Erasmus  lost  his  interest 
in  Vives.  Time  was  short  and  Erasmus  had  much  to  do. 
The  claims  of  scholarship  engrossed  him  more  and  more. 
In  1 53 1  Vives  writes  begging  a  few  words  as  to  his  old 
master's  health.  "  It  is  due  to  the  love  we  bear  each  other, 
and  to  the  relief  of  my  particular  anxiety."  On  May  lo,  1534, 
Vives  wrote,  reasserting  his  affection,  and  his  continued  trust 
in  that  of  Erasmus.  But  he  could  not  hide  from  himself  that 
Erasmus  was  failing,  and  he  was  evidently  aware  that  Erasmus 
was  himself  conscious  of  the  fact.  He  can  only  pray  that 
Erasmus  may  be  given  such  strength  of  mind  and  body  as 
will  make  his  physical  suffering  more  tolerable.  Erasmus 
died  July  12,  1536,  a  little  less  than  four  months  short  of 
completing  70  years  of  age. 

^  There  is  no  wish  on  Vives'  part  to  emphasise  any  difference  of  his 
point  of  view  from  that  of  Erasmus.  For  he  adds  his  admiration  of 
Erasmus  as  of  one  who  has  gained  the  satisfaction  at  which  he  himself 
would  aim.  "  I  think  it  a  truer  glory  of  yours  to  have  made  others 
better  from  their  reading  of  your  monumental  works  than  to  hear  all 
those  expressions  of  glory — ■'  most  elocjuent,'  '  most  learned,'  '  first  of  all.'" 


Juan  Luis  Vives  xci 

Vives  had  indicated  to  Erasmus  that  his  thoughts  were 
becoming  fixed  on  the  public  good  and  the  public  service — an 
aim  by  no  means  new  to  him.  The  work  on  Poor-relief,  which 
seems  to  have  escaped  Erasmus'  notice,  or  at  least  his  attention, 
had  shown  that  his  interests  were  becoming  hopelessly  dispersed, 
or  were  widening  in  their  human  sympathies — according  to  the 
point  of  view  from  which  this  change  is  regarded.  He  had 
given  up  the  ideal  of  "  pure  scholarship "  as  it  is  called,  or 
"  knowledge  in  itself,  and  for  its  own  sake."  Intellectual 
pursuits  were  valuable  not  simply  as  exercising  the  mind, 
not  simply  as  increasing  individual  possessions,  but  as  having 
social  implications.  As  Swedenborg  later  declared,  "all  religion 
has  relation  to  life,"  Vives  announced  that  in  his  view  all 
learning  has  relation  to  life.  He  desired  that  all  scholars 
should  place  their  trained  minds,  and  their  store  of  knowledge, 
at  the  service  of  their  fellow-men,  even  at  the  expense  of  fore- 
going the  solitary  student's  absorption  in  "universes  of  thought" 
which  only  touch  on  practical  life  at  rare  points. 

Erasmus  has  been  called  "the  literary  chief  of  Europe." 
"  Before  the  sickly  scholar  of  Basle,  throwing  on  every 
controversy  of  the  age  the  light  of  his  genius  and  his  learning, 
all  Europe  bowed^"  Nevertheless,  Vives  knew  he  had  a 
distinctive  work^  to  do,  and  that  he  could  not  withhold  himself 
from  it  even  if  Erasmus  extended  to  him  no  encouragement 
in  the  task.     Hence  his  work  on  women's  education,  and  the 

^  Charles  Beard,  The  Keforination  (Hibbert  Lectures  1883),  p.  64. 

-  Dr  C.  Lecigne  wrote  his  thesis  (1898)  Quid  de  rebus  politicis  sensuit 
J.  Lttdovicus  Vives.  He  bases  the  thesis  on  a  study  of  seventeen  separate 
treatises  and  letter-tractates  of  Vives.  These  include  letters  to  D.  Everard 
de  la  Marck,  Archbishop  of  Valencia,  to  Cardinal  Wolsey,  to  John  Longland, 
Bishop  of  Lincoln,  to  King  Henry  VHI,  to  the  Emperor  Charles,  and  the 
treatises  Somnium  Scipionis,  Aedes  Legum,  in  Leges  Ciceronis  Praelectio, 
de  Europae  Statu  ac  tiimultibus ,  de  Pace  inter  Caesarem  et  Franciscum 
Galliarum  regent,  de  Europae  dissidiis  et  hello  Titrcico  dialogus,  de  Sub- 
ventione  Pauperum,  dc  Vita  sub  Turca,  de  Concordia,  de  Pacificatione, 
de  Sudore  Chrisli,  de  Coinmunione  Reruni. 


xcii  TutrodiLction 

work  on  Poor-relief,  on  both  of  which  subjects  he  could  write 
with  more  knowledge  and  absorption  of  interest  than  Erasmus. 
He  also  entered  on  the  discussion  of  high  politics.  He  boldly 
wrote  a  letter  to  Henry  VHI  to  plead  anew  the  cause  of 
Catharine,  and  again  to  urge  him  not  to  divorce  CatharineS 
and  to  beseech  him  to  throw  his  power  on  the  side  of  inter- 
national peace.  He  protested  against  Francis  I  or  any  other 
king  allying  himself  with  the  Turks. 

In  1529  he  dedicated  his  most  typical  political  work  to  the 
Emperor  Charles  V,  viz.  his  book  on  Concord  and  Discord  amongst 
Mankind-.  In  sustained  eloquence,  and  with  concentrated 
thought,  Vives  brings  all  his  powers  to  bear  upon  the  subject 
of  universal  peace  amongst  Christians.  He  is  full  of  passion 
in  his  desire  for  the  wars  of  princes  to  cease,  for  disputes 
amongst  learned  men  to  disappear,  for  unity  in  religion  to 
be  promoted,  and  that  loving  piety  should  abound.  He 
attempts  to  induce  Charles  V  to  use  his  vast  power  for  the 
good  of  mankind,  to  become  as  it  were  in  his  own  person 
the  philosopher-prince  of  Plato,  or,  shall  we  say,  to  surpass  the 
dreams  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  by  the  transformation  of  the  Utopia 
from  the  realms  of  fiction  into  an  idealistic  spirit  which  should 
animate  the  treatment  of  national  and  international  problems 
in  their  practical  issues  in  the  whole  life  of  Christian  Europe. 

Yet  Vives  was  no  sympathiser  with  the  Anabaptists  in  their 
declaration  against  private  property.  In  his  Communion  of 
Goods^  he  protests  against  the  recent  iniquitous  wars  making 
a  demand  for  property  to  be  held  in  common  by  a  usurpation 
of  the  name  of  liberty  and  equality,  whereas  you  cannot  by 
any  promulgation  transfer  the  virtue  of  a  man's  mind,  or  his 

'  ("f.  p.  Ixxxix  note^ 

-  De  Concordia  et  Discordia  in  hiiniano genere  (Antwerp  i  =.29),  dedicated 
to  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  Without  satisfactory  evidence  Vives  has  been 
described  as  the  tutor  of  Charles  V.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  however, 
that  tlie  two,   monarch  and  subject,  highly  respected  each  otiier. 

•*  De  Co}iim/i7iin)ie  Reriirn  (wx'Men  in  15.^5,  published  in  1538).  A  clear 
and  able  statement  of  what  we  now  call  Individualism. 


Juan  Luis  Vives  xciii 

wisdom,  judgment,  memory,  into  common  property.  Or  even 
if  you  limit  the  demand  to  material  things,  the  taking  of  the 
student's  books  away  from  him  for  the  use  of  the  soldier 
will  not  be  recompensed  by  the  student's  joint  use  of  the 
implements  of  war.  Vives'  social  sympathies  were  based  upon 
the  educational  doctrine  of  the  differences  of  mental  ability, 
the  necessity  of  discovering  the  essential  capacities  of  each  in- 
dividual, and  by  the  help  of  teachers  and  others  of  strengthening 
those  capacities  \ 

Pursuing  his  constructive  policy  of  using  his  scholarly 
thought  for  the  public  good,  Vives  threw  himself  into  the 
study  of  educational  problems  and  wrote  the  de  Disciplinis, 
which  he  finished  July  1531,  at  Bruges.  This  work  was 
divided  into  twenty  books,  seven  books  on  the  Corruptions 
of  the  Arts  and  five  on  the  Transmission  of  the  Arts'-.  The 
seven  books  of  the  Corruptions  of  the  Arts  deal  with  the 
negative  side  of  the  educational  problem,  viz.  the  reasons 
why  knowledge  as  a  whole  had  degenerated  from  its  active, 
vital  search  for  truth,  especially  after  the  times  of  the  great 
thinkers  of  antiquity.  Vives  traces  the  general  causes  of 
corruption  of  the  arts,  and  then  deals  specifically  with  the 
corruptions  of  grammar,  dialectic,  rhetoric,  nature-philosophy, 
ethics  and  civil  law.  In  every  subject  which  he  discusses  he 
critically  examines  not  only  the  instances  of  old  and  con- 
temporary methods  of  study,  but  he  also  suggests  the  sound 
and  effective  attitude  to  be  taken  for  their  rightful  study. 
The  Causes  of  the  Corruptions  of  the  Arts  is  the  best  con- 
temporaneous account  of  the  aims  and  methods  of  the  teaching 
of  the  times,  critically  considered  by  a  writer  who  wished  above 

1  For  the  educational  doctrine  see  the  Transmission  of  Kno%vledge, 
Bk  III.  Chap.  3,  "  On  the  Choice  of  Pupils,"  p.   72  et  seqq.  infra. 

2  The  remaining  eight  books  consist  of  the  treatises  on  the  Arts : 
I.  de  Prima  Philosophia  ;  2.  de  Explanatione  aiiusque  Essentiae;  3.  de 
Censtira  Veri ;  4.  de  Instrumento  Probabilitatis ;  i,.  de  Dispntatiotte.  The 
Prima  Philosophia  is  divided  into  three  books,  the  de  Censura  Veri  into 
two  books. 


xciv  Introduction 

all  things  to  free  himself  from  illusions  as  to  the  golden  age 
of  past  scholarship,  or  even  as  to  any  finality  in  the  current 
Renascence  standards. 

The  five  books  on  the  IransDiission  of  Knoivkdge  are  the 
part  of  the  de  DiscipUnis  translated  in  the  present  volume. 
Their  purpose  was  to  provide  a  constructive  system  of 
Christian  education  on  a  critical,  reasoned  basis,  which 
should  show  the  aims,  methods  and  resources  of  education 
as  Vives  found  it,  for  the  purpose  of  the  development,  by 
educational  processes,  of  scholars  thoroughly  trained,  physically, 
intellectually,  morally;  not  only  capable,  but  also  eagerly  desirous, 
of  taking  their  part  whole-heartedly  in  the  affairs  of  life,  and  of 
devoting  themselves  in  whatever  career  they  chose,  to  making 
their  profession  an  effective  instrument  of  the  public  good. 

In  his  Parisian  days  Vives  had  attacked  the  methods  of 
the  "  Pseudo-dialecticians."  In  the  last  eight  books  of  the 
de  DiscipUnis  Vives  endeavoured  to  show  the  constructive 
lines  which  he  would  advocate  for  logic  teaching^  In  1533 
he  offered  his  detailed  suggestions  for  the  teaching  of  rhetoric'-. 
This  was  followed  by  a  treatise  on  letter-writing^  The  School- 
hoy  Dialogues^  to  serve  as  material  for  learning  to  speak  Latin ^, 
is  one  of  the  latest  of  his  books,  and  shows  that  the  mind 
of  the  writer,  in  its  maturity,  had  not  lost  that  spring  and 
buoyancy  which  knew  how  to  appeal  to  the  child's  interests. 

The  last  educational  book  of  Vives  might  be  regarded  by 
some  students  as  the  most  important  of  his  works,  for  it  points 
to  the  psychological  basis  of  education.     This  was  entitled  On 

1  See  also  on  the  subject  of  logic  p.  163  et  seqq. 

■^  In  his  Rhetoricae,  sive  de  recte  dicendi  ratione,  libri  /res,  with  which 
was  issued  the  de  Consuliatioiw,  lib.  i,  so  useful  to  Ben  Jonson.  Pulilished 
at  Louvain  Sept.  1533. 

^  De  ConscrJhendis  Epistolis,  Basle,  1536. 

"•  Called  the  Exerciiatio  Littguae  Latmae,  1538.  Translated  into 
English  under  the  title  of  Tudor  School-boy  Life,  London,  Dent,  1908, 
in  the  Introduction  to  which  an  account  is  given  of  the  significance  of 
this  widely-circulated  school  text-book. 


Juan  Luis  Vives  xcv 

the  Soul  and  LifeK  Here,  in  the  territory  of  psychology,  Vives 
shows  that  whilst  studying  Aristotle's  views  on  this  subject  we 
must  not  be  satisfied  to  rely  on  the  ancients,  but  we  must  adopt 
the  method  of  observation  and  experience,  and  thus  step  forth 
to  progress  in  knowledge  of  the  mind  on  our  own  initiative. 
He  discourages  discussions  on  the  nature  of  the  soul,  and  insists 
on  the  investigation  not  of  what  the  soul  is  but  what  it  does 
or  suffers.  Vives,  thus,  is  the  father  of  modern  empirical 
psychology,  and  to  name  one  outstanding  theme  on  which 
he  has  anticipated  later  inquiry,  the  theory  of  the  Association 
of  Ideas  is  laid  down  with  a  clearness  which  has  won  the  high 
recognition  of  those  interested  in  the  history  of  psychology  I 

In  the  province  of  religion  Vives  was  also  active,  but  here 
it  was  the  side  of  practical  piety  which  especially  engaged  his 
thoughts ^  He  published  a  collection  of  Prayers  and  Devotional 
Exercises'^.  The  historians  of  the  English  Book  of  Common 
Prayer'*  point  out  that  books  of  Private  Prayers  (put  forth  by 
Authority)  displaced  the  old  type  formed  on  the  plan  of  the 
Canonical  Hours  and  even  those  of  the  Morning  and  Evening 
Services  of  the  Prayer-book.  They  ascribe  the  origin  of  these 
domestic  prayers  to  Vives,  whose  prayers  were  translated  and 

1  De  Anima  et  Vita,  1538.  This  book  was  dedicated  to  the  Duke  of 
Bejar,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  1605  Cervantes  dedicated  his 
Don  Quixote  to  the  contemporary  Duke  of  Bejar.  "  Thus,"  says  Bonilla, 
'!the  Dukes  of  Bejar  were  honoured  liy  the  first  philosopher  and  the  first 
novelist  of  Spain  "  (p.  247). 

2  See  Collected  Works  of  Thomas  Reid  (ed.  Sir  Wm.  Hamilton), 
Vol.  II.  pp.  890,  896,  where  Hamilton  says  in  the  note  on  Association 
of  Ideas,  "  Vives'  observations  comprise,  in  brief,  nearly  all  of  principal 
moment  that  has  been  said  on  this  subject,  either  before  or  since  his 
time. " 

^  For  this  reason,  and  also  on  account  of  the  rancour  of  the  advocates, 
Vives  had  no  sympathy  with  the  Lutherans.  Yet  no  man  was  more  eager 
than  Vives,  not  even  Erasmus  or  Luther  himself,  for  the  reform  of  the  abuses 
of  the  Church,  and  in  requiring  higher  standards  of  living  from  all  men. 

^  Ad animi  exercitationem  in  Deum  Cotnmentatiiniciilae,  Antwerp,  1535. 

^  F.  Procter  and  W.  H.  Frere  (1902  ed.,  p.  128). 


xcvi  Int7''oductiou 

adopted  by  John  Bradford.  After  their  use  in  several  collections, 
Vives'  prayers  form  a  substantial  part  of  the  Book  of  Christian 
Prayers  issued  in  1578  by  Royal  Authority  of  Queen  Elizabeth 
and  apparently  were  used  by  herself^  Vives  furnished  prayers 
to  be  said  at  first  vvaking  in  the  morning,  at  uprising,  at  putting 
on  of  the  clothes,  at  first  going  abroad,  at  returning  home,  at 
the  setting  of  the  sun,  at  the  lighting  of  the  candles,  in  the 
evening,  on  unclothing  ourselves,  at  going  into  bed,  when  we 
be  ready  to  sleep.  These  prayers,  and  many  others  of  Vives, 
were  incorporated  into  an  official  English  Protestant  Book  of 
Private  Prayers.  Graces  before  and  after  meals  were  commonly 
said  by  boys  and  the  old  books  of  Manners  and  Morals  make  due 
provision  for  these,  usually  in  Latin,  and  only  in  later  centuries 
in  the  vernacular.  Nor,  probably,  was  Vives  peculiar  in  his 
recommendation  of  saying  a  prayer  before  beginning  studies. 
"We  ought  to  pray,"  says  Vives,  "that  our  studies  may  be  sound, 
of  no  harm  to  anybody,  and  that  so  we  may  be  sources  of 
sound  health  to  ourselves  and  the  community  at  large-." 
He  regards  it  as  desirable  to  offer  prayer  before  proceeding 
to  publish  a  bookl  The  fact  of  the  Catholic  source  of  these 
prayers  must  have  been  outbalanced  in  England  by  the  sense 
of  the  fit  expression  in  them  of  human  aspiration. 

The  events  of  Vives'  fife  from  the  time  of  his  leaving 
England  in  1528  call  for  only  a  brief  account.  In  1529  the 
sweating  sickness  broke  out.  Vives  and  his  wife  fled  to  Lille. 
Margaret  had  no  fear  and  shortly  returned  to  Bruges.  Vives 
went  on  to  Paris,  after  which  he  returned  to  his  wife  and  wrote 
a  religious  manual  on  The  Sacred  Diurnal  of  Chrisfs  Sweat. 
In  1 53 1  he  called  his  sister  from  Valencia  to  come  and  five 
with  him.  He  gave  lessons  to  Jacques  de  Corte,  a  distinguished 
jurisconsult.  In  1532  he  paid  a  visit  to  his  friend  Georges  de 
Halewyn  (at  the  Chateau  de  Comines),  a  great  friend  of  good 

^   Parker  Society,  Private  Prayers,  ed.  W.  K.  Clay,  p.  xx. 
-  p.  276  infi-a. 
•*  p.   300  infra. 


Juan  Luis  Vives  xcvii 

literature.  Again  heavy  troubles  began  to  overtake  Vives. 
In  1533  already  the  gout  had  taken  possession  of  hands, 
knees,  arms,  up  to  the  shoulders.  In  1535  came  the  deaths  on 
the  scaffold  of  his  friends  Bishop  Fisher  and  Sir  Thomas  More. 
In  1536  Catharine  of  Aragon  died  in  January  and  Erasmus  in 
July. 

In  1537  Vives  found  a  home  in  Breda  in  Brabant,  as  tutor 
to  Mencia  de  Mendoza^,  wife  of  Henry,  Count  of  Nassau,  well- 
known  as  an  encourager  of  literary  men.  It  is  supposed  that 
Vives  lived  at  Breda  from  1537  to  1539.  In  1539  he  finished 
his  last  book  On  the  Truth  of  the  Christian  Faith'-.  Margaret, 
Vives'  widow,  secured  the  help  of  Francis  Craneveldt  in  seeing 
the  work  through  the  press,  and  it  appeared  at  Basle  in  1543. 
It  is  an  exposition  of  the  Christian  faith  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  Roman  Church.  It  treats  of  religion  in  general  from  the 
point  of  view  of  its  application  to  life.  It  establishes  Christianity 
as  against  the  Jews  and  Mahometans,  and  as  against  the 
philosophical  systems  of  antiquity. 

H.  G.  Braam^  in  an  analysis  of  Vives'  theological  works, 
declares  that  everywhere  he  bases  his  views  on  the  rational 
attitude,  and  maintains  that  he  is  the  precursor  of  the  best 
of  the  1 8th  century  rationalists.  "God  has  given  man  reason, 
and  he  must  therefore  make  use  of  it."  It  would  probably  be 
nearer  Vives'  view  to  say  that  he  is  a  Modernist-Catholic. 
For  he  is  an  undoubted  Catholic.  He  says:  "I  declare  I 
submit  myself  always  to  the  judgment  of  the  Church,  even  if  it 

^  Mencia  Mendoza  was  the  daughter  of  the  first  Marquis  of  Cenete  and 
niece  of  Cardinal  Mendoza.  Vives  had  mentioned  her  as  a  girl  in  the 
Institution  of  a  Christian  Woman,  "I  see  Mencia  Mendoza  growing  up, 
I  hope  she  will  become  distinguished  some  day."  Whilst  at  Breda  Vives 
published  In  Bucolica  Virgilii  interpretatio  and  Censura  de  Aristotelis 
operibus.  For  an  account  of  his  stay  at  Breda  see  "  Memoire  de  I'Abbe  de 
Ram  "  in  Nouveaux  Mimoires  de  P Acadimie  de  Bruxelles,  Vol.  Xll.  p.  79. 

^  De  Veritate  Fidei  Christianae,  published  at  Basle  1543. 

•*  Dissertatio  Theologica,  exhibens  J.  L.  Vivis  Theologiam  Christianam, 
Qroningen  1853. 

F.  W.  <r 


xcviii  Introduction 

appears  to  me  to  be  in  opposition  to  the  strongest  grounds 
of  reason.  For  I  may  be  in  error,  but  the  Church  never  is 
mistaken  on  matters  of  belief."  But  though  a  Catholic  he  is, 
as  has  been  well  said,  more  Johannine  than  Pauline^. 

The  great  labour  bestowed  on  this  last  work  increased  the 
infirmity  of  his  gout,  now  complicated  by  other  diseases.  He 
died  at  Bruges  6  May  1540.  He  was  buried  in  the  Church  of 
St  Donatian  in  that  city  I  On  22  August  in  the  same  year,  at 
Paris,  Guillaume  Bude,  the  greatest  Hellenist  of  that  age, 
also  died.  Erasmus  had  died  in  1536.  Thus  the  three 
scholars  known  in  the  next  century  and  a  half  as  the  triumvirs 
of  literature  had  passed  away  within  four  years.  Erasmus 
was  nearly  seventy  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  death  ;  Bude, 
seventy-three ;  Vives  was  the  youngest,  viz.  forty-eight. 

We  can  now,  in  a  brief  form,  give  an  answer  to  the 
question  :    Who  was  Vives  ? 

Juan  Luis  Vives  was  a  Spaniard  of  aristocratic  descent, 
trained  in  the  old  paths  of  scholasticism  both  at  Valencia 
and  in  Paris.  He  was  a  leader  in  the  revolt  of  humanism 
against  the  Parisian  dialecticians.  Strengthened  by  the  en- 
thusiasm of  the  new  movement  of  Busleiden's  College  of 
the  Three  Languages  at  Louvain  and  by  intercourse  with 
Erasmus  in  that  city  he  came  over  to  England  and  was 
attached  to  the  first  Renascence  Oxford  College  of  Corpus 
Christi.  For  the  rest  of  his  life  with  the  stimulus  of  previous 
connexion  with  the  new  revolutionary  humanistic  institutions 

^  De  Veritate  Fidei  Ch]'isiianae,  Bk  I.  Cap.  3,  Opera  viii.  p.  22.  By 
Vives'  desire  this  work  was  dedicated  to  Pope  Paul  III. 

2  The  Transniissio)]  of  Knowledge  shows  Vives'  religious  views  applied 
to  pedagogy.  See  Bk  i.  Chap.  4,  p.  28  et  seqq.  infra.  On  the  authority 
of  the  Bible  see  ibid.  p.  89  infra. 

^  Vanden  Bussche,  loc.  cit.  p.  319. 

*  At  the  end  of  the  i7t]i  century  A.  Teissier  can  still  describe  these 
scholars  "comme  les  Triumvirs  de  la  Republique  des  Lettres  de  leur  siecle," 
Les  £lo^es  des  Hommes  Sfavans,  Utrecht  1696. 


fuan  Ltns  Vives  xcix 

of  Louvain  and  Oxford — the  most  progressive  universities  in 
the  world  of  that  time — and  in  the  forward  movement  of 
which  he  had  played  no  inconspicuous  part,  he  was  caught 
up  by  a  zeal  for  the  public  good,  in  which  the  best  academic 
resources  were  to  be  brought  to  bear,  if  we  may  use  the 
Platonic  metaphors,  to  use  their  academic  gold — for  counter- 
balancing the  silver  and  brass  and  iron  of  the  denizens  of  the 
outside  world  individually,  nationally,  and  internationally. 

He  was  the  central  figure  in  the  conflict  with  the  dialecticians. 
In  the  extended  use  of  the  scientific  method  of  induction, 
coupled  with  the  concentrative  employment  of  observation  and 
experiment  he  is  the  precursor  of  Bacon.  He  is  the  pioneer 
in  the  observational  treatment  of  psychology.  He  is  the  first 
writer  to  urge  an  organised  system  of  poor-relief  as  a  civic  and 
national  duty.  He  is  an  apostle  of  universal  peace,  a  position 
by  no  means  so  popular  in  the  days  of  i6th  century  Tudor 
absolutism  and  imperial  ambition  as  it  is  at  the  present  day. 
In  this  hatred  of  war,  of  course,  his  efforts  were  linked  with 
those  of  Erasmus.  Lastly,  of  all  the  humanists,  it  was  Vives 
who  gave  the  closest  attention  to  the  study  of  education  and 
the  after  history  of  education,  in  its  main  principles  and  many  of 
its  details,  is  to  be  found  foreshadowed  in  his  de  Disciplinis^. 
He  was  the  great  "  way-breaker  "  in  education,  to  use  Lange's 
description. 

He  was,  moreover,  a  man  of  noble  personality  in  whom 
the  inner  springs  of  character  were  greater  than  any  objective 
work  which  he  produced. 

Though  he  renounced  ambition  and  the  reward  of  fame 
his  written  works  entitle  him  to  high  distinction,  as  we  look 
back  on  his  achievements.  He  was  the  first  in  the  modern 
world  to  write  a  critical  history  of  ancient  philosophy,  in  which 
he  passed   beyond  the   method  of   biography  and  traced  in 

1  See  the  elaborate  treatment  of  the  indebtedness  of  later  educationists 
to  Vives  by  A.  Lange  in  Schmid  and  Schrader,  Encyc.  ix.  Abteil.  3, 
PP-  843-51. 

^2 


c  Introduction 

outline  the  development  of  scientific  progress'.  In  logic,  whilst 
he  is  chiefly  known"  as  an  iconoclast,  and  in  this  connexion 
anticipated  the  chief  points  of  attack  afterwards  made  by  Francis 
Bacon,  more  emphatically  than  that  philosopher  he  preserved 
the  highest  reverence  for  Aristotle,  whom  he  recognised,  in 
spite  of  all  the  adverse  criticism  he  had  brought  against  him, 
as  "unique  above  all  other"  philosophers''.  The  directions 
of  his  intellectual  activity  were  thus,  in  some  respects,  different 
from  those  of  Erasmus  and  of  Bude,  but  the  record  of  Vives' 
achievements,  as  well  as  the  great  charm  of  his  personal 
characteristics,  all  go  to  provide  reasons  for  the  insight  of 
the  1 6th  century  in  regarding  him  as  one  of  their  most 
important  leaders,  and  to  justify  their  opinion,  from  their 
own  point  of  view,  in  linking  his  name  with  that  of  Erasmus 
and  of  Bude  in  their  triumvirate  without  in  any  way  intending 
to  question  the  supremacy  of  each^  in  his  own  special  province, 
or  provinces,  of  mental  greatness. 

1  In  the  (/('  Initiis  Scitis  et  Lamiihiis  Philosophiae,  written  in  i?i!^, 
published  in  1521  (at  Louvain).  This  work  received  high  praise  as  a  new 
departure  from  J.  J.  Brucker  in  his  Historia  Critica  Philosophiae,  \ .  87 
and  VI.  696  (1767),  who  was  apparently  the  first  to  recognise  that  Vives 
had  written  the  earliest  modern  history  of  philosophy.  This  philosophical 
tendency  can  be  seen  also  in  the  text,  in  Book  i :  "  Educational  Origins." 

-  T.  Spencer  Baynes  in  the  Introduction  to  the  Port-Royal  Logic 
speaks  of  Vives  as  one  of  '■'a  few  men  of  independent  thought"  who  had  done 
more  than  follow  in  the  beaten  track  of  Logic  since  the  time  of  Boethius  up 
to  the  time  of  the  Port-Royal  Logic,  1662. 

3  See  p.  8,  11.  8-ro  infra.  Dr  T.  G.  A.  Katt-r  has  written  in  the 
University  of  Erlangen  a  Dissertation  on  Johann  Liidivig  Vives  und  seine 
Stellung  zu  Aristoteles,  Erlangen  1908. 

*  On  the  supremacy  of  Bude  as  a  Greek  scholar,  see  U.  Kebitte, 
Gidllaume  Bndtl:  restaurateur  des  etudes  grecques  en  France.  Bude,  too, 
was  the  founder  of  the  College  de  France.  As  to  Erasmus  see  R.  B. 
Drummond,  Erasmus,  his  Life  and  Character,  Lond.  1873.  As  to  his 
pre-eminence  in  many  directions  all  the  world  knows. 


CHAPTER    III 

VIVES    ON    EDUCATION 

Vives  "the  second  Quintilian."  Vives  was  often 
called  the  second  Quintilian.  In  an  age  in  which  the  return 
to  antiquity  was  the  only  way  to  re-capture  the  intellectual 
enthusiasm  which  could  make  further  progress  possible,  there 
could  be  no  higher  compliment  paid  to  an  educationist  than  to 
compare  him  on  equal  terms  with  the  greatest  of  the  Roman 
thinkers  and  critics  on  education.  Nor  must  it  be  forgotten 
that  it  was  only  in  1416  that  Poggio  discovered  in  the 
Abbey  of  St  Gall,  MSS.  of  Quintilian's  Oratorical  Institutions, 
lost,  in  a  complete  form,  for  so  many  centuries.  When  the 
printing-press  multiplied  copies  of  this  precious  complete 
work^  it  became  "the  code"  of  the  best  educationists  of  the 
age.  Quintilian  was  a  native  of  Northern  Spain,  and  Spaniards 
particularly  prided  themselves  on  the  contribution  to  the  theory 
of  oratory  and  of  education  made  by  their  countryman,  first  to 
Rome,  and  then  in  the  15th  century  fully  restored  again  to  the 
service  of  the  whole  learned  world.  But  if  the  term  "second 
Quintilian"  were  to  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  reproducing  the 
views  of  Quintilian  or  of  authors  of  antiquity  solely,  a  sense  in 
which  it  was  certainly  not  meant  by  the  i6th  century,  it  would 
be  an  inadequate  description  of  Vives,  and  we  should  lose  part 

^  The  editio princeps  was  published  at  Rome  by  P.  de  Lignamine  in  1470, 
and  was  followed  by  a  separate  issue  in  the  same  year  by  Sweynheini 
and  Pannartz. 


cii  lutrodtiction 

of  its  complimentary  import.  For  Vives  was  to  the  Europe  of 
his  time  what  Quintilian  had  been  in  the  first  century  a.d.  to 
Rome.  He  was  the  modern  Quintilian,  prepared  to  incorporate 
wliat  was  best  and  permanent  in  humanity  from  the  ancients, 
but  to  use  the  ancient  writers  as  a  starting  place,  and  not  as  a 
goal,  in  education  and  in  all  other  "arts"  and  branches  of 
knowledge.  He  had  passed  over  the  bridge  separating  the 
mediaeval  and  modern  ages,  and  had  entered  on  the  "way- 
making"  side  of  the  modern  world.  He  was  the  Quintilian  of 
the  Renascence,  in  looking  forward  towards  the  conceptions  ol 
the  golden  age  placed  in  the  future,  not  in  the  past  \  towards 
scientific  knowledge  gained,  not  from  time-honoured  but  obso- 
lete authority,  such  as  that  of  Aristotle  and  the  scholastic 
philosophers,  but  from  independent  research  and  the  direct 
interrogation  of  nature;  and  finally  in  looking  forward  to  the 
rise  and  growth  of  separate  nationalities  and  separate  ver- 
naculars. With  all  these  possibilities  before  the  future,  Vives 
recognised  that  education  must  change  the  old  moorings,  and 
adapt  itself  not  merely  to  the  contemporaneous  state  of  things 
but  also  that  it  must  make  due  provision  for  the  right  spirit  and 
the  right  methods,  in  advancing  hopefully  and  buoyantly  to 
meet  the  vaster  possibilities  of  the  developing  knowledge  and 
culture  of  the  future.  In  short,  Vives  was  Baconian  in  outlook, 
two  generations  before  the  great  philosopher  drove  home  to  a 
steadily  progressing  civilisation  the  scientitic  aims  and  sug- 
gested the  bases  of  modern  advance,  which  had  been,  with 
Vives,  only  the  prophet's  vision. 

Vives  a  Modern  Thinker.  Men,  who  mark  transition- 
stages,  are  rarely  understood  by  the  later  generations,  who 
benefit  so  greatly  by  their  labours.  The  modern  claim  of  the 
right  of  inquiry  and  of  freedom  of  thought  and  investigation, 
are  clearly  enough  stated  by  Vives  to  his  contemporaries,  who 
would  not,  as  we  are  apt  to  do,  regard  them  as  commonplace 
ideas,  but  who  must  have  looked  on  them  as  revolutionary 


Vives  on  B  dice  at  ion  ciii 

suggestions  to  depose  the  ruling  monarchs  of  philosophy,  and 
substantially  as  much  if  not  worse  intellectual  treason,  as  it 
would  be  political  treason,  to  dethrone  an  absolute  king  or 
emperor,  say,  Henry  VIII  or  Charles  V. 

The  modern  key-note  of  Vives  is  struck  in  the  dedicatory 
address  to  King  John  III  of  Portugal^  of  the  Transmission  of 
Knotvledge.  To  live  worthy  of  the  nobility  of  his  ancestors  is  a 
sufficiently  onerous  task  for  the  king,  since  his  predecessors  had 
made  Portugal  the  conspicuous  sea-power  that  it  then  was,  but 
King  John  must  also  transmit  the  glory  of  his  predecessors' 
achievements  in  an  increased  and  more  splendid  mass,  to  pos- 
terity. The  whole  dedication  rings  with  the  jubilant  delight  of  a 
new  era,  where  the  only  possibility  of  mediocrity  of  achievement, 
would  be  to  expect  too  little  of  himself.  The  hour  has  come  for 
great  deeds ;  the  king,  and  each  in  his  degree,  must  play  the 
man.  So,  passing  from  an  individual  king  to  the  great  band 
of  scholars  and  teachers,  all  in  Vives'  opinion  should  dedicate 
their  work  to  the  service  of  mankind.  The  end  of  studies  is 
not  mere  reverie,  glory,  or  reward.  The  fruit  of  all  our  studies 
is  to  apply  them  to  the  common  good".  Nor  is  it  sufficient  to 
be  concerned  for  the  increase  of  the  happiness  and  welfare  of 
the  present  generation  only.  Sound  knowledge  is  to  be  gained 
and  transmitted  for  the  good  of  posterity,  "for  whom  we  ought 
to  care  as  we  do  for  our  sons\"  At  Paris  Vives  had  forecast 
that  the  time  was  approaching  when  the  absolute  claim  to 
liberty  would  be  made  by  students.  In  the  noble  passage 
quoted  by  Ben  Jonson,  Vives,  following  Seneca,  acknowledged 
the  leadership  but  not  the  autocracy  of  the  best  of  the  ancients. 
'•'•J^ruth  stands  open  to  ally  and  Viyes^.like  Bacon,  afterwards,.\^ 
called  upon  all  students  and  investigators  to  seek  it  and  pro- 
claim it  for  the  good  of  all. 

Vives  and  Bacon.     It  has  been  said  of  Bacon  that  at 
the  root  of  his  intellectual  powers  was  his  optimism.     This  is 

^  p.  I  htfra.  -  See  p.  283  infra.  ^  See  p.  210  iufra. 


civ  Introduction 

characteristic  also  of  Vives '.  Add  to  this  aspect,  what  is  true  of 
Bacon  in  spite  of  cynical  paradoxes  at  his  expense,  he  was  a 
great  philanthropist,  and  such  a  description  of  Bacon  as  that 
written  by  Dean  Church,  would  apply  equally  well  to  Vives  : 

"  Doubtless  it  was  one  of  Bacon's  highest  hopes,  that  from 
the  growth  of  true  knowledge  would  follow  in  surprising  ways 
the  relief  of  man's  estate'';  this  as  an  end  runs  through  all  his 
yearning  after  a  fuller  and  surer  method  of  interpreting  Nature. 
The  desire  to  be  a  great  benefactor,  the  spirit  of  sympathy  and 
pity  for  mankind,  reign  through  this  portion  [i.e.  the  philo- 
sophical] of  his  work— pity  for  confidence  so  greatly  abused 
by  the  teachers  of  man,  pity  for  ignorance  which  might  be 
dispelled,  pity  for  pain  and  misery  which  might  be  relieved." 

The  parallel  between  Vives  and  Bacon  can  be  best  illus- 
trated by  the  common  belief  in  the  greatness  of  the  actual 
world  which  became  so  instinctive  to  the  Elizabethan  age. 
This  it  was  which  made  Jonson  so  readily  seize  upon  Vives' 

1  We  should  have  thought  that  the  discovery  of  America  Ijy  Columbus 
might  have  stamped  itself  on  Vives  as  the  pre-eminent  event  of  the  times. 
But  when  he  refers  to  it  (p.  246  infra)  he  adds:  "But  since  then  vaster 
events  have  followed.  These  cannot  but  seem  fabulous  to  our  posterity, 
though  they  are  absolutely  true." 

2  So,  Vives  bids  teachers,  "pity  the  human  race,  blind  and  forsaken 
amidst  so  many  dangers,"  p.  60  infra.  He  says:  "What  can  we  fix  as 
the  end  of  man  except  God  Himself?... We  must  return  to  Him  by  the 
same  way  we  came  forth  from  Him.  Love  was  the  cause  of  our  being 
created.... From  that  love  we  have  been  separated,  forsooth  by  the  love  of 
ourselves.  By  that  love  we  have  been  recalled  and  raised  up,  that  is  to 
say,  by  the  love  of  Christ."  The  perfect  knowledge  of  the  divine  life,  both 
Vives  and  Bacon  laid  in  the  "oracles"  of  Scripture.  But  Vives  allows  no 
fixed  barrier  between  science  and  religion.  "All  things  the  more  they  are 
known  the  more  they  open  the  doors  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Deity  as 
the  supreme  cause,  through  His  works  ;  and  this  is  the  most  fitting  way 
for  our  minds  to  reach  to  the  knowledge  of  God."  See  pp.  29-30  infra. 
And  again,  Vives  says:  "By  the  possession  of  reason  we  become  most  like 
...to  the  Divine  Nature.... This  state  was  ordained  by  the  Creator  for 
men.. ..But  through  sin  all  things  were  inverted"  (p.   250). 


Vives  oil  Education  cv 

declaration  that  nature  was  not  so  effete  or  exhausted  as  not  to 
be  able  to  bring  forth,  in  his  age,  results  comparable  to  those 
of  earlier  periods.  "Nature  always  remains  equal  to  herself" 
There  are  many  such  passages  in  Vives.  Here  from  his 
Causes  of  the  Corruptions  of  the  Arts  is  a  passage,  which  surely 
might  have  been  written  by  Bacon  himself  Vives  is  speaking  of 
the  authors  of  antiquity,  and  says  :  "Yet  they  were  men  as  we 
are,  and  were  liable  to  be  deceived  and  to  err.  They  were  the 
first  discoverers  of  what  were  only,  as  it  were,  rough  and,  if 
I  may  say  so,  shapeless  blocks  which  they  passed  on  to  their 
posterity  to  be  purified  and  put  into  shape.  Seeing  that  they 
had  such  fatherly  good-will  and  charity  towards  us,  would  they 
not  be  themselves  unwilling  to  pledge  us  not  to  use  our  own 
intellects  in  seeking  to  pass  beyond  their  gifts  to  us.  The  good 
men  amongst  them  undoubtedly  in  the  past  stretched  forth 
their  hands  in  friendship  to  those  whom  they  saw  mounting 
higher  in  knowledge  than  they  themselves  had  reached.  For 
they  judged  it  to  be  of  the  very  essence  of  the  human  race,  that, 
daily,  it  should  progress  in  arts,  disciplines,  virtue  and  goodness. 
We  think  ourselves  men  or  even  less,  whilst  we  regard  them  as 
more  than  men,  as  heroes,  or  perhaps  demi-gods— not  but 
what  they  excelled  in  many  and  great  achievements.  So  we 
also  might  no  less  excel,  in  the  eyes  of  our  posterity,  if  we  were 
to  strive  sufificiently  earnestly,  or  we  might  achieve  still  more, 
•since  we  have  the  advantage  of  what  they  discovered  in  know- 
ledge as  our  basis,  and  can  make  the  addition  to  it  of  what  our 
judgment  finds  out.  For  it  is  a  false  and  fond  similitude, 
which  some  writers  adopt,  though  they  think  it  witty  and 
suitable,  that  we  are,  compared  with  the  ancients,  as  dwarfs 
upon  the  shoulders  of  giants.  It  is  not  so.  Neither  are  we 
dwarfs,  nor  they  giants,  but  we  are  all  of  one  stature,  save  that 
we  are  lifted  up  somewhat  higher  by  their  means,  provided 
that  there  be  found  in  us  the  same  studiousness,  watchfulness 
and  love  of  truth,  as  was  in  them.  If  these  conditions  be 
lacking,  then  we   are  not   dwarfs,  nor  set   on   the  shoulders 


cvi  Introduction 

of  giants,  but  men  of  a  competent  stature,  grovelling  on  the 
earth'." 

Bacon's  Advancement  of  Human  Learning  includes  in  the 
first  book  a  discussion  of  the  "discredits"  then  attaching  to 
learning.  The  "discredits"  correspond  in  many  ways  to  the 
"corruptions"  which  form  the  subject-matter  of  the  earlier 
portion  of  Vives'  de  Disciplinis.  For  instance,  among  the  causes 
of  the  "corruptions"  dealt  with  by  Vives,  are  arrogance  of 
scholars,  search  of  glory,  jealousy,  covetousness,  ambition,  love 
of  victory  rather  than  truth,  the  depreciation  in  which  mathe- 
matics were  held,  the  futility  of  studies  undertaken  for  gain, 
the  ill-equipment  and  small  repute  of  teachers.  Still  closer  to 
Vives  is  Bacon's  name  for  "that  kind  of  Rational  Knowledge 
which  is  transitive,  concerning  the  expressing  or  transferring 
our  knowledge  to  others ;  which  I  zvill  term  by  the  general 
name  of  T7-aditio7i  or  Delivery."  Bacon  must  have  known  the 
title  of  Vives'  book,  the  de  Tradendis  Disciplinis,  when  he  wrote 
the  Advancement  of  Learning  in  1605;  and  in  1623  when  the 
Latin  version  was  issued  under  the  title  of  de  Augmentis 
Scientiarum  libri  ix,  the  only  Latin  text  of  the  de  Disciplinis  ever 

'  De  Caitsis  Corniptai-iim  Artiiim.  Opera  \'l.  p.  39.  The  latter  part 
of  the  above  passage  is  quoted  more  than  once  in  a  well-known  17th 
century  work :  An  Apologie  or  Declamation  of  the  Potuer  and  Providence 
of  God  in  the  Government  of  (he  World,  2nd  ed.,  Oxford,  1630,  by  George 
Hakewill,  Preface  p.  6  and  p.  229.  This  book  combats  the  view  that 
modern  ages  have  "decayed,"  and  vigorously  asserts  the  progress  of  later  as 
against  ancient  times.  The  controversy  went  on  as  can  be  seen  in  Joseph 
Glanvill's  Pins  Ultra:  or  the  Progress  and  Advancement  of  Knowledge  since 
the  days  of  Aristotle,  1668,  and  in  William  Wotton's  Reflections  upon 
Ancient  and  Modern  Learning,  1694,  which  gave  rise  to  a  controversy, 
made  memorable  by  the  intervention  of  Uean  Swift  with  his  Battle  of  the 
Books,  published  in  1704.  Intermediate  between  Vives  and  Bacon  was  the 
work  of  Louis  Le  Roy,  who  wrote  Des  Vicissitudes  ou  la  Verite  de  Chases 
en  rUnivers,  Paris,  1579,  translated  into  English  by  Robert  Ashley  in 
1594,  under  the  title  of  the  Interchangeable  Course  of  Things.  Le  Roy 
urged  that  "  we  ought  by  our  own  inventions  to  augment  the  doctrine  of 
the  Ancients."     This  book  must  have  been  known  to  Bacon. 


Vwes  on  Education  cvii 

published  in  England  had  been  issued  in  1612,  edited  by  Henry 
Jackson  ^  The  term,  which  Bacon  seems  to  claim  as  distinc- 
tive, of  "tradition,"  for  transmission  of  knowledge,  whether 
consciously  or  unconsciously  borrowed,  is  reminiscent  of  Vives. 
It  is  true  he  widens  the  use  so  as  to  include  the  critical 
apparatus  necessary  for  the   presentation  of  authors. 

If  we  examine  more  closely  the  details  included  by  Bacon 
in  the  pedagogical  part  of  the  art  of  "Transmission"  (for  this 
is  the  word  by  which  his  Latin  Traditio  is  rendered)  we  find 
interesting  points  of  contact  with  Vives.  Bacon's  shortest  rule 
is  "Consult  the  Schools  of  the  Jesuits,"  and  we  have  seen  that 
apparently  those  Schools  through  their  founder  had  consulted 
Vives.  Bacon,  like  Vives,  advocates  a  collegiate  education  (in 
preference  to  private  tuition)  not  in  private  houses  nor  merely 
under  schoolmasters,  but  in  colleges.  For  in  colleges  there  is 
more  emulation,  and  "there  is  also  the  sight  and  countenance 
of  grave  men",  which  tends  to  modesty,  and  forms  their  young 
minds  from  the  very  first  after  that  model."  This  is  all  in 
keeping  with  Vives'  idea  of  the  Academy. 

1  Henry  Jackson  (1586-1662)  was  the  son  of  an  Oxford  n.ercer.  He 
was  a  scholar  of  Corpus  Christi  College,  Oxford  (Vives'  College  when 
lecturing  at  Oxford),  and,  in  1612,  was  probationar>'  Fellow  of  the  College, 
and  in  that  year,  as  Antony  a  Wood  records  :  "  he  did  diligently  recognise 
and  added  marginal  notes  with  a  copious  Index  to  the  twelve  books  of 
J.  L.  Vives,"  i.e.  the  de  Disciplinis.  Wood  adds:  "He  has  also  made  a 
collection  of  several  of  the  works  of  Pet.  Abelard  from  ancient  Mss  of 
that  author,  and  had  revised,  compared  and  collated  them.... The  Grand 
Rebellion  breaking  forth  in  1642,  the  soldiers  belonging  to  the  Parliament 
rifled  his  house,  scattered  the  said  collection  and  made  it  so  imperfect  that 
it  could  never  be  recovered"  (Wood,  Athen.  Oxon.  ni.  577).  Jackson's 
edition  of  Vives'  de  Disciplinis  is  a  very  scarce  book. 

The  marginal  descriptive  Latin  heads  adopted  by  Jackson  in  his  text  to- 
gether with  his  references  to  authorities  have  been  included  in  the  present 
text,  in  a  translated  form.  These  notes,  at  any  rate,  show  the  points  of 
special  interest  felt  by  an  English  scholar  in  Vives'  book  at  the  beginning 
of  the  17th  century. 

2  Vives  says  in  the  Academy  should  be  old  men  who  would  attract  "by 
a  certain  majesty  and  authority."     See  p.  63  et  seqq.  infra. 


cviii  Introduction 

For  the  "order  and  manner  of  teaching"  Bacon  says: 
"  Avoid  abridgments  and  a  certain  precocity  of  learning  which 
makes  the  mind  over-bold,  and  causes  great  proficiency  rather 
in  show  than  in  fact."  And,  again.  Bacon  says^:  "As  for 
epitomes  (which  are  certainly  the  corruptions  and  moths  of 
histories)  I  would  have  them  banished,  whereto  likewise  most 
men  of  sound  judgment  agree,  as  being  things  that  have  fretted 
and  corroded  the  bodies  of  many  most  excellent  histories  and 
wrought  them  into  base  and  unprofitable  dregs."  Vives  had 
treated  these  very  books  of  summaries  as  a  cause  of  the  cor- 
ruption of  learning,  for  by  stealth,  he  says,  students  think  from 
them  to  gain  their  pseudo-knowledge,  whereas  real  knowledge 
can  only  be  acquired  by  inquiring  into  the  grounds  of  things 
and  understanding  their  causes^.  Instead  of  studying  authors 
themselves,  their  works  have  been  turned  into  centones'\  a 
term  which  may  reasonably  represent  Bacon's  "  unprofitable 
dregs."  As  to  the  "precocity"  which  Bacon  ascribes  as  the 
cause  of  the  use  of  epitomes,  Vives  also  had  observed  it : 
"Students,  content  with  these  'little  flowers,'  'summaries,' 
and  as  they  are  called  'pearlsV  hastening  along  to  the  end 
which  their  mind  desires,  despise  as  superfluous  what  is 
necessary  for  true  erudition,  whilst  those  counterfeits  and 
fictions  which  they  affect,  are  inconsistent  with  it."  Bacon 
advises  encouragement  of  the  individuality  of  the  pupil's  mind 
and  tastes;  and  full  freedom  to  pursue  them.  Vives,  providing 
scope  for  the  private  reading  of  the  pupil,  when  left  to  himself, 
is  especially  modern  in  his  recognition  of  the  adaptation  of 
training  to  each  individual  pupil.  The  next  subject  dealt  with 
by  Bacon   must   be  quoted  at  length:  "The  application  and 

'  De  Aiignieiitis  Scieniiarjini,  Bk  II.  cap.  6. 

-  De  Causis  Corruptariun  Artiitni.     Opera  vi.  p.  6i. 

■*  A  Cento  was  an  attempt  to  make  a  new  work  by  a  hotch-potch  of  the 
words  in  a  well-known  author  strung  together  usually  in  the  form  of  verse. 

■*  i.e.  Alargaritae.  The  best  known  is  probably  the  Mai-garita  Philo- 
sophica  (Friburg,  1503),  by  Gregory  Reisch,  an  encyclopaedic  text-book  on 
a  mediaeval  model. 


Vives  on  Education  cix 

choice  of  studies  according  to  the  nature  of  the  mind  to  be 
taught,  is  a  matter  of  wonderful  use  and  judgment;  the  due  and 
careful  observation  whereof  is  due  from  the  masters  to  the 
parents,  that  they  may  be  able  to  advise  them  as  to  the  course 
of  life  they  should  choose  for  their  sons.  And  herein  it  should 
be  carefully  observed,  that  as  a  man  will  advance  far  faster  in 
those  pursuits  to  which  he  is  naturally  inclined,  so  with  respect 
to  those  for  which  he  is  by  defect  of  nature  most  unsuited  there 
are  found  in  studies  properly  chosen  a  cure  and  a  remedy  for 
his  defects.  For  example,  if  one  be  bird-witted,  that  is,  easily 
distracted  and  unable  to  keep  his  attention  as  long  as  he 
should,  Mathematics  provides  a  remedy;  for  in  them  if  the 
mind  be  caught  away  but  a  moment,  the  demonstration  has  to 
be  commenced  anew."  Vives  devotes  nearly  a  whole  chapter 
to  this  subject \  Down  to  the  detail  about  Mathematics,  Vives 
had  had  the  whole  subject  in  his  mind:  "Mathematics  are 
particularly  disciplinary  to  flighty  and  restless  intellects  which 
are  inclined  to  slackness  and  which  shrink  from  the  toil  of  con- 
tinued effort.. ..In  this  subject  there  is  the  necessity... of  the 
idea  of  series  and  a  perpetual  string  of  proofs.  We  can  easily 
let  them  slip,  unless  they  are  frequently  made  use  of  and 
thoroughly  impressed  on  the  mind-." 

Lasdy,  Bacon  advocated  stage  plays,  an  educational  method 
which  he  confessedly  adopted  from  the  Jesuits.  Vives',  in 
dealing  with  the  Causes  of  the  Corruption  of  Rhetoric,  had 
urged  the  value  of  the  declamation'  and  had  suggested  the 
importance  of  oral  repetition  as  an  exercise  for  the  memory, 
and  had  insisted  on  voice-training,  and  even  required  the 
student  to  regard  gesture  as  a  constituent  part  of  the  oration. 
The  training  of  the  youth  to  a  "little  assurance  and  to  being 
looked  at,"  points  which  Bacon  considered  the  acting  in  stage 

^  See  Bk  il.  chap.  3,  pp.  73-80  infra. 

-  See  p.  202  infra. 

^  De  Causis  Corrtiptartint  Artium,  Bk  iv.  chap.  4. 

■*  See  also  pp.  186-7  iifra. 


ex  Introduction 

plays  would  help  to  develop,  certainly  are  not  to  be  found  in 
Vives'. 

One  further  parallel  in  the  scientific  domain  may  be 
mentioned,  especially  since  it  brings  out  another  link  of  Vives 
with  modern  developments  of  knowledge.  Bacon  says:  "As- 
trology is  so  full  of  superstition  that  scarce  anything  sound  can 
be  discovered  in  it."  He  proceeds,  however,  to  inquire  how 
it  may  be  "purified,  rather  than  be  altogether  rejected'-."  Vives 
holds  that  astrology  is  a  "thorough  product  of  ostentation  and 
impostures.'  He  will  not  even  pursue  its  history  as  a 
"corruption,"  for  he  contends  that  it  is  not  an  "art"  at  all, 
but  a  fraud,  and  he  must,  therefore,  pass  it  by^  In  the 
manual  which  he  prepared  for  all  youths  who  proposed  to 
proceed  to  scholarly  studies,  his  Introduction  to  Wisdom, 
he  writes:  "Crafts  must  be  shunned  that  fight  against  virtue; 
all  crafts  that  work  by  vain  conjectures  as  palmistry,  pyromancy, 
hydromancy,  necromancy,  astrology,  wherein  much  pestilent 
vanity  lieth  hid*." 

There  was  thus  common  ground  between  Vives  and  Bacon 
(even  if  there  were  in  the  latter  reserves  as  to  its  total  rejection) 
in  their  condemnation  of  the  study  of  astrology.  The  rejection 
of  this  subject  was  a  sufficiently  noticeable  attitude  in  Bacon, 
for  he  was  living  in  the  days  when  Queen  Elizabeth  extended 
her  royal  favour  to  the  astrologer  John  Dee.  Melanchthon 
accepted  astrology.  What  is  more  remarkable,  Tycho  Brahe 
(d.  1601)  and  Kepler  (d.  1630)  cast  nativities^     Nevertheless, 

1  Vives  distinctly  deprecates  play-actors'  realism — in  leading  to  imita- 
tion in  life,  of  what  is  bad  as  well  as  what  is  good.  "The  exposition  of 
authors  should  be  made  in  the  words  of  the  vernacular  and  by  degrees  in 
Latin,  pronounced  distinctly  and  with  gestures  which  may  help  intelligence, 
as  long  as  they  do  not  degenerate  into  the  theatrical"  (ad  histrionicum), 
p.  104  infra.     See  also  de  Ratione  Dicendi,  Opera  11.  p.  220. 

2  Works  edited  J.  M.  Robertson,  pp.  462-3. 

'  De  Catisis  Corruptaruni  Ariium,  Opera  vi.  p.  206. 
■*  Opera  I.  p.  II.     See  also  de  Catisis  Corruptarum  Ariium,   Opera  VI. 
p.  19. 

•''  On  the  question  of  casting  horoscopes  we  can  gather  Vives'  opinion. 


Vives  on  Ed^Lcatiou  cxI 

much  earlier,  Vives,  followed  by  Bacon  (less  decisively),  took 
what  was  to  be  the  modem  view\ 

Vives  on  Nature-Studies.  But,  apart  from  these 
general  educational  agreements  between  Vives  and  Bacon,  Vives 
had  already,  two  generations  before  Bacon,  formed  his  concep- 
tion as  to  the  importance  of  Nature-studies  on  the  lines  of 
observation  and  experiment'-,  and,  what  is  more,  had  included 
them  in  his  system  of  school-education  ^ 

Vives  saw  as  clearly  as  Rousseau  later  that  the  chief  ground 
for  the  "corruption"  of  the  study  of  Nature  was  the  absorption 
of  pupils  in  book-learning.  Students  of  the  natural  sciences  in 
the  1 6th  century  could  not  keep  away  from  Aristotle,  or  Pliny, 
and  whatever  the  erudition  or  even  power  of  observation  of  those 
authors  might  be,  they  clearly  abounded  in  hasty  generalisations. 
Instead  of  limitation  to  the  reading  of  ancient  authors  on 
natural  science,  there  must  be  substituted  direct  observation 
and  investigation,  and  instead  of  disputation  there  must  be 
"silent  contemplation  of  nature,"  and  instead  of  metaphysical 
discussions,  observation  and  the  consideration  of  the  actual 
phenomena  of  Nature.  The  whole  question  of  Nature-studies 
in  their  higher  aspects  was  knit  up  with  the  training  of  the 

In  a  note  on  the  "angles"  of  the  heavens  used  in  casting  nativities  or 
horoscopes,  Vives  gives  the  Greek  names,  shows  his  knowledge  of  the 
pseudo-art,  and  then  adds:  "But  we  have  angled  long  enough  for  any 
good  we  have  gotten  :  Forward."  Vives'  Coiuntentaries  on  St  Augustine's 
Civitas  Dei,  Healey's  translation,  p.  193. 

1  On  the  teaching  of  astrological  views  in  the  i6th  century,  see  Foster 
Watson,  Beginnings  of  the  Teaching  of  Modern.  Subjects,  pp.  361-89. 

-  It  may  be  observed,  without,  perhaps,  being  regarded  as  more  than  an 
accidental  coincidence  with  Bacon,  that  Vives  uses  the  word  "  exploratio," 
in  the  sense  of  finding  out  by  search  (see  p.  216  infra),  so  that  Bacon's 
well-known  phrase  "exploration"  of  Nature  was  not  unparalleled. 

*  It  is  somewhat  curious  that  Bacon  in  his  treatment  of  pedagogy  says 
nothing  about  the  introduction  into  the  curriculum  of  any  kind  of  nature- 
observation.  Vives  was  driven  to  the  necessity  of  including  some  form  of 
observational  study,  for  in  his  psychology  (i.e.  in  the  de  Attima)  he  had 
recc^;nised  the  senses  as  "our  first  teachers."     See  p.  cxxii  infra. 


cxii  Introduction 

student  of  medicine,  and  the  "corruptions"  which  had  beset 
medicine  had  fallen  with  redoubled  force  on  Nature-studies ^ 
Vives  had  realised  the  significance  of  the  training  of  the  senses - 
in  training  observation.  By  the  senses,  he  remarks,  we  come 
to  the  discrimination  of  similars  and  dissimilars,  and  in  this 
process  we  are  helped  by  experience  of  and  by  experiments  on 
things.  We  must  first  apply  our  own  concentration  and  other 
powers  of  our  minds  to  phenomena.  When  these  fail,  we  can 
call  in  the  expositions  handed  down  by  others.  We  all  of  us 
have  for  the  purposes  of  observation  the  "light  of  nature,"  and 
this  may  be  concerned  with  the  senses,  in  visual  discrimination, 
with  the  judgment,  as  intellectual  discrimination,  and  with  the 
intellect,  in  reasoning  through  causes  and  effects.  "The 
youth,"  says  Vives,  "will  find  Nature-study  easier  than  an 
abstract  subject,  because  in  it  he  only  needs  alertness  of  the 
senses,  whilst  for  ethics  he  needs  experience  in  life,  knowledge 
of  historical  events,  and  a  good  memory.  What  we  know  of 
Nature  has  been  gained  partly  through  the  senses,  partly  through 
the  imagination,  though  reason  has  been  at  hand  as  a  guide  to 
the  senses.  On  this  account  we  have  gained  knowledge  in  few- 
subjects,  and  in  those  sparingly,  because  of  those  shadows 
which  envelope  and  oppress  the  human  mind^.  For  the  same 
reason  what  knowledge  we  have  gained  can  only  be  reckoned 
as  probable,  and  must  not  be  assumed  as  absolutely  true'*." 

But  there  are  dangers  in  Nature-study  particularly  for  those 
who  are  incredulous  of  the  discoveries  of  others,  whilst  they 

^  De  Causis  Cormptanim  Artiiun,  Opera  vi.  p.  185  et  seqq. 

"  Vives  refers  to  the  part  played  in  education  by  the  training  of  the 
senses  in  the  de  Anima  and  also  in  the  Causes  of  the  Corruptions  of  the 
Arts,  as  well  as  in  the  Transmission  of  Knowledge. 

3  i.e.  through  the  Fall  of  Man. 

^  p.  166  and  p.  168  infra.  "In  all  natural  philosophy  the  scholar 
should  be  told  that  what  he  hears  is  only  thought  to  be  true,  i.e.  so  far  as 
the  intellect,  judgment,  experience  and  careful  study  of  those  who  have 
investigated  the  matter  can  ascertain,  for  it  is  very  seldom  that  we  can 
affirm  anything  as  absolutely  true." 


Vives  on  Educatioii  cxiii 

assert  their  own,  although  often  founded  on  insufficient  evidence ; 
or  for  those  who  accept  the  authority  of  others  without  investi- 
gation, on  their  own  account.  Especially  must  Nature-study 
be  undertaken  in  connexion  with  genuine  religious  convictions. 
Vives  held  that  Nature  must  he  examined  with  "the  torch  of 
Christ,"  and  not  with  the  "poor  light  of  heathen  authors."  This 
passage'  impressed  Comenius  who  adopted  it  as  the  motto  of 
his  Natural  Philosophy  Reformed  by  Divine  Light  {Fhysicae 
Synopsis). 

The  remedies  proposed  are  characteristic  of  Vives.  Nature- 
study,  like  all  our  studies,  should  be  applied  to  the  needs  of 
life,  to  relieve  some  bodily  or  mental  pain,  or  to  the  cultivation 
within  us  of  the  feeling  of  reverence.  "The  contemplation  of 
Nature  is  unnecessary,  and  even  harmful,  unless  it  serves  the 
useful  arts  of  life,  or  raises  us  from  a  knowledge  of  His  works  to  a 
knowledge,  admiration  and  love  of  the  Author  of  these  works'." 
Vives'  plan  of  Nature-study  is  as  follows-' : 
The  teacher  begins  with  the  easiest  topics,  viz.  those 
natural  objects  which  are  evident  to  the  senses.  The  outlook 
is  then  extended  to  a  general  survey  of  the  whole  of  Nature,  as 
if  it  were  presented  as  a  picture — the  Orbis  Pictus  as  Comenius^ 
afterwards  called  his  book.  This  will  involve  a  general  know- 
ledge of  the  celestial  as  well  as  the  terrestrial  sphere'.  "In 
these  studies  there  is  no  disputation  necessary;  there  is 
nothing  needed  but  the  silent  contemplation  of  Nature." 

Only  promising  and  capable  students  are  to  proceed  past 
the  stage  of  descriptive  cosmography.  Such  will  go  on  to 
astronomy,  ancient  and  modern  geography,  the  study  of  animals, 
plants,  herbs,  the  agricultural  sciences.     Vives,  as  became  a 

'  See,  at  length,  p.  172  infra. 

-  p.  166  infra. 

*  p.  168  infra. 

■*  The  question  of  the  indebtedness  of  Comenius  to  Vives  has  been  dis- 
cussed by  August  Nebe :  in  Vives,  Ahted,  Comenitts,  in  ihrem  Verhdltnis 
zu  einander.     Elberfeld,  1891. 

5  The  text-books  are  fully  stated  p.  168  et  seqq. 

F.  w.  h 


c  X  i  V  Introduction 

native  of  Valencia,  laid  considerable  stress  on  the  study  of  the 
great  variety  of  fishes,  and  their  different  names  locally.  Gems, 
metals,  pigments,  can  be  studied  in  Pliny,  and  in  Raphael 
Volaterranus.  But  over  and  above  all  the  book  study  there 
must  be  the  close  observation  of  outward  Nature.  The  student 
will  observe  "natural  objects  in  the  heavens,  in  cloudy  and  in 
clear  weather,  in  the  plains,  on  the  mountains,  in  the  woods." 
Then  for  further  knowledge,  following  the  example  of  Pliny,  he 
will  consult  the  practical  experience  of  gardeners,  husbandmen, 
shepherds  and  hunters \  Eyes,  ears,  mind,  all  must  be  intent. 
The  practical  application  of  knowledge  to  husbandry,  should 
keep  the  students  from  metaphysical  fruitless  speculation. 
Finally,  Vives  points  out  that  Nature-observation  will  be  a 
pleasant  resource  to  the  aged,  and  a  recreation  at  all  stages  of 
life.     "  It  is  at  once  school  and  schoolmaster." 

When  we  remember  that  it  is  only  within  the  last  decade 
that  Nature-study  has  won  its  place  in  present-day  schools,  we 
cannot  help  regarding  Vives,  the  pioneer  of  nearly  four  hundred 
years  ago,  as  showing  remarkable  insight  into  the  educational 
possibilities  of  the  subject.  As  we  have  seen,  in  his  School- 
Dialogues,  he  at  least  brought  the  subject  of  Nature-study 
attractively  before  the  minds  of  generations  of  school-boys'. 

The  first  modern  writer  to  treat  psychology  empirically  was 
not  likely  to  overlook  the  necessity  of  training  sense  experience. 
Thus,  Vives  declares  "the  senses  open  up  the  way  to  all  know- 
ledge V'  ^'""d  again,  "whatever  is  in  the  arts  was  in  Nature  first, 
just  as  pearls  are  in  shells  or  gems  in  the  sand''."     It  could 

'  Vives  expands  Pliny's  suggestion  so  as  to  include  other  directions  of 
practical  activity.  He  would  have  the  boy  visit  shops  and  factories  and 
inquire  from  craftsmen  as  to  their  work  (see  p.  209).  In  the  /anna 
Linguaruni  and  in  the  Orbis  Picttis,  Comenius  makes  use  of  this  idea, 
including  amongst  his  topics  descriptions  of  trades. 

^  See  pp.  li-lii  supra.  The  Exercitatio  (School  Dialogues)  had  an  un- 
usually wide  circulation.  Over  100  editions  have  been  noted  (see  Bomer : 
Die  Lateinischen  Schiilergespracke  der  Humanisten,  Berlin,  1899). 

^  See  p.  168  infra.  ■*  See  p.  20  infra. 


Vives  on  Echtcation  cxv 

hardly  be  expected  that  Vives  should  have  thought  out  a 
scientific  method  of  investigation,  when  two  generations  later 
Bacon  failed  to  establish  that  New  Instrument  of  research, 
which  should  infallibly  rise  from  being  the  servant  of  Nature, 
to  becoming  her  Interpreter,  and  thence  proceed  to  bring  her 
into  subjection.  ^-.^^ 

Vives'  use  of  the  Inductive  Method.  Vives,  like  all 
students  of  Nature  who  proceed  by  the  way  of  observation  and 
experiment,  and  do  not  submit  themselves  to  the  dictation  of 
Aristotle  or  any  other  authority,  was  bound  to  stumble  upon 
the  Inductive  Method.  For  we  cannot  study  the  facts  of 
Nature  from  syllogisms,  and  if  we  wish  to  reach  to  any  law  of 
generalisation,  we  must  first  observe  particular  facts  exactly 
and  methodically.  In  Vives'  account  of  the  origin  of  arts,  the 
IrTduHTve  Method  is  introduced.  Arts  were  due  to  observation 
joined  with  reasoning.  "In  the  beginning,  first  one,  then 
another  experience,  through  wonder  at  its  novelty,  was  noted 
down  for  use  in  life;  from  a  number  of  separate  experiments 
the  mind  gathered  a  universal  law,  which,  after  support  and 
confirmation  by  many  experiments  was  considered  certain  and 
established.  Then  this  knowledge  was  handed  down  to 
posterity.  Others  added  subject-matter  which  tended  to  the 
same  use  and  end.  This  material  collection  by  men  of  great 
and  distinguished  intellect,  constituted  the  branches  of  know- 
ledge, or  the  arts^" 

In  describing  the  method  of  teaching  to  be  adopted  by  the 
school-teacher,  Vives  has  a  clear  insight  into  the  principle  of 
the  Inductive  Method : 

"In  teaching  the  arts,  we  shall  collect  many  experiments 
and  observe  the  experience  of  many  teachers,  so  that  from 
them  general  rules  may  be  formed.  If  some  of  the  experi- 
ments do  not  agree  with  the  rule  then  the  reason  why  this 

'  p.  20  inf)-a. 

hi 


cxvl  Introduction 

happens  must  be  noted.  If  the  reason  is  not  apparent,  and 
there  are  some  deviations,  they  must  be  noted  down.  If  there 
are  more  deviations  than  agreements,  or  an  equal  number, 
a  dogma  must  not  be  estabhshed  from  that  fact,  but  the  facts 
must  be  transmitted  to  the  astonishment  of  posterity,  so  that 
from  astonishment — as  has  been  the  case  in  the  past — philo- 
sophy may  grow."  Vives  insists  that  all  generalised  knowledge 
has  developed  from  particulars  of  experience.  So-called  inven- 
tors and  discoverers  had  a  "certain  unusual  force  of  nature" 
perhaps,  but  starting  without  an  "art"  to  guide  them,  they  put 
together  particulars  of  experience  by  the  conjoint  use  of  their 
observation  and  reason,  to  form  the  basis  of  an  art,  which 
already  they  found  originally  from  material  in  nature.  The 
Inductive  Method  had  produced  the  art  of  rhetoric.  For  it 
was  from  the  study  of  the  practice  of  Cicero  and  Demosthenes 
in  writing  good  Latin,  that  examples  of  the  use  of  rhetorical 
expressions  built  up  the  "rhetorical  precepts."  Nevertheless, 
however  complete  an  art  may  have  become,  "he  who  studies  it 
or  expounds  its  rules  must  withdraw  his  eye  from  experiments 
and  direct  his  sight  to  Nature  herself. ...  For  in  Nature  there  is 
an  absolute  model,  which  each  mind  expresses  as  well  as  his 
genius  and  diligence  will  allow  him;  some  more  than  others, 
yet  no  one  completely  and  perfectly." 

The  perception  of  the  inductive  basis  of  the  art  of  rhetoric 
was  the  outstanding  instance  in  which  the  humanist  could  see 
the  force  and  validity  of  induction  generally.  If  rhetoric  as  an 
art  was  built  up  of  the  generalisations  from  instances  of  figures 
and  tropes  in  Cicero  and  Demosthenes,  grammar  was  only,  in 
its  source,  the  collection  of  the  usages  of  the  people  in  their 
ordinary  speech,  and  the  rules  of  grammar  the  short  and  pre- 
cise statement  of  the  common  factors  and  principles  in  the 
people's  own  language.  By  comparison  with  the  practice  in 
other  languages,  there  issued  the  knowledge  of  common  prin- 
ciples between  languages  themselves,  i.e.  philology.  Nor  is  it 
too  much  to  say  that,  having  once  obtained  an  insight  into  the 


Vives  on   Education  cxvii 

Inductive  Method,  \'ives  applied   it  consistently  through  his 
writings  in  nature-studies,  language,  medicine^  and  law-. 

Great  is  the  change  from  the  mediaeval  reliance  upon  the 
authoritative  dicta  of  Aristotle  and  his  commentators,  and  the 
deductive  method  of  showing  the  application  of  his  principles 
to  the  explanation  of  some  fact  of  nature,  of  language,  or  of 
some  other  "art"  or  "science,"  to  the  position  thus  taken  up 
by  Vives.  He  was  logically  driven  to  realise  that  when  he 
gave  up  the  principle  of  authority,  his  only  resource  was  the 
appeal  to  experience,  through  observation  and  experience,  the 
reconstruction  in  thought  along  historical  lines,  of  each  of  the 
arts,  combined  with  the  individual  testing,  by  each  student,  by 
observation  and  experiment,  of  what  was  recorded  in  human 
experience.  Hence  he  was  impelled  to  write  the  section 
entitled^  "  Educational  Origins,"  a  book  which  the  modern 
reader  may  regard  as  dry  and  lifeless.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
student  of  Culturgeschichte,  or  of  education,  will  find  in  this 
section  the  first  modern  attempt  to  read  the  past  history  of  the 
race  in  terms  of  an  interpretation   of  experience,  in  all  the 

1  "Out  of  how  many  practical  experiences  on  all  sides  has  the  art  of 
medicine  to  be  built  up  like  rain-water  composed  of  drops"  (p.  233  infra). 

-  Vives  considers  that  a  jurisconsult  should  realise  for  each  law  what  its 
life-giving  force  is  and  what  its  preservative  force  is  to  the  community 
(see  p.  262  infra).  He  also  says :  "Amongst  legal  systems  which  differ  from 
one  another,  each  has  a  reason  of  varying  degrees  of  logical  value  for  its 
own  view."  The  jurisconsult  is  required,  in  Vives'  opinion,  to  discover 
the  good  and  the  right  in  all  the  varying  laws  of  different  communities,  and 
the  resultant  principles  to  be  constituted  into  an  Ars  Justitiae  (pp.  252-3 
infra).  The  qualifications  of  the  jurisconsult  are  given  (p.  268  infra)  and 
include  power  of  psychological  observation,  experience  in  life  and  the 
study  of  history.  Such  a  man  has  then,  together  with  the  knowledge  of 
law,  such  prudentia  (wisdom  in  the  experiences  of  life)  as  to  qualify  him 
to  be  a  student  of  jurisprudence,  a  view  which  places  jurisprudence  as 
an  emphatically  inductive  study. 

^  The  descriptive  titles  of  the  books  have  been  supplied  by  the  present 
translator,  and  are  not  those  of  Vives,  who  simply  distinguishes  the  book  by 
ordinal  numbers. 


cxviii  Introduction 

directions  of  civilisation.  In  fact  this  book  contains  the  first 
modern  descriptive  history  of  civiHsation.  Encyclopaedic  as 
"were  Vives'  interests,  he  brings  his  empirical,  inductive  method 
"V  to  the  reconstruction  of  each.  In  his  Causes  of  the  Corruptions 
of  the  Arts  he  had  shown  in  multitudinous  detail  the  stupefying 
effects  of  authority.  But  in  his  Transmission  of  Knoiv ledge  he 
supplies  the  alternative  method  of  appeal  to  experience  as 
offering  an  explanation  of  "origins"  of  the  arts  and  sciences  as 
well  as  providing  the  basis  of  a  vitally  new  method  of  educa- 
tion. When,  nearly  three  hundred  years  afterwards,  Pestalozzi 
expressed  his  aim  in  the  memorable  words,  "I  want  to  psycho- 
logise  education,"  his  attitude  was  in  continuous  development 
from  the  starting-point  first  established  by  Vives.  The  appeal 
away  from  authority  to  experience  involved  the  application  of 
the  inductive  method.  It  demanded  a  psychology  on  empirical 
lines.  Vives  gave  it  the  new  direction.  He  was  the  last  of  the 
Mediaevalists;  and  also,  the  first  of  the  modern  scientists. 

But  distinctive  as  this  achievement  was,  and  more  progressive 
still  as  was  Bacon's  contribution  to  the  scientific  impulse,  as 
Dean  Church  pointed  out.  Bacon's  views  were  only  "poetical 
science"  compared  with  the  "mathematical  and  precise  science" 
which  was  brought  to  its  development  by  Sir  Isaac  Newton. 
In  the  hands  of  the  latter,  scientific  method  rose  to  a  standard, 
a  censura  veri,  for  which  Vives  groped  in  vain,  and  towards 
which  Bacon  apparently  did  all  that  was  at  his  time  possible, 
without  a  deeper  grasp  than  the  mathematics '  of  his  age  could 
provide,  and  in  which  he,  to  his  own  loss  and  to  the  loss  of  his 
age,  was  by  no  means  well  equipped.  Bacon  devised  the 
modern  scientific  method,  but  it  was  developed  to  fruition  by 

'  It  will  be  noted  that  Vives  advocated  the  study  of  Mathematics  (see 
p.  20 1  et  seqq.  infra).  He  wishes  them  to  be  pursued  so  as  to  obtain 
from  them  such  help  "as  will  be  useful"  in  the  student's  life  (p.  207  infra). 
Yox  the  distinctive  position  of  Vives  in  connexion  with  the  teaching  of 
Mathematics  see  Foster  Watson,  The  Beginnings  of  the  Teaching  of 
Modern  Subjects,  p.  254  et  seqq. 


l^ives  on  Education  cxix 

Newton.  The  forerunner  who  heralded  the  appeal  to  experi- 
ence in  the  study  of  man  and  nature,  and  made  the  bold  bid 
for  the  empirical,  inductive  method  in  both  scientific  investi- 
gation and  in  teaching,  as  the  only  refuge  from  the  survival 
of  mediaeval  authority,  was  Juan  Luis  Vives. 

Vives  and  the  Study  of  Psychology.  The  de  Atiima 
et  Vita  of  Vives  was  published  in  1538 1.  It  was,  however, 
written  prior  to  the  de  Disciplinis,  i.e.  prior  to  I53I^  and  Vives 
borrows  passages  from  it,  in  dealing  with  the  adaptation  of 
educational  training  for  the  various  dispositions  to  be  found 
amongst  different  pupils,  and  to  the  training  of  sharpness  in 
observation,  capacity  in  comprehension,  and  power  in  com- 
parison and  judgment.  Vives'  views  as  to  the  "  choice  of  wits," 
and  the  methods  of  judging  boys'  powers  and  character  (the 
"trial  of  wits  ")  evidently  influenced  Ascham  and  Mulcaster  as 
already  noticed,  and  probably  stirred  Juan  Huarte  a  compatriot 
of  Vives  to  write  a  comprehensive  treatise  on  the  Examina- 
tion of  Men's  Wits'^,  as  Richard  Carew,  the  English  trans- 
lator, called  it.  Huarte  thought  that  an  examination  of  children 
by  experienced  physicians,  watching  the  earliest  activities  and 
efforts  of  children,  might  be  so  conducted  as  to  determine  the 
occupation  in  life  to  which  they  might  most  usefully  be  trained. 
The  right  seed  might  thus  be  sown  in  the  right  soil  of  children's 
minds.  Vives  discusses  several  tests  of  boys'  abilities,  as  e.g. 
arithmetic  shows    sharpness  or  slowness  of  mind.     Memory 

1  The  title-page  says:  "Opus  insigne,  nunc  primum  in  lucem  editum." 
(Basle,  September,  1538.     Robert  Winter.) 

-  See  p.  73  infra.  This  point  is  not  unimportant,  since  it  shows  that 
\'ives  had  specifically  studied  Psychology  before  writing  on  Education. 

•'  Huarte's  title  is  Examen  de  Ingenios  para  las  Ciencias,  written  in 
1557.  Carew's  translation  (1594)  was  not  taken  from  Huarte  direct,  but 
from  the  Italian  translation  of  Camillo  Camilli  (Venice  1582).  Huarte's 
book  was  translated  into  German  by  the  great  critic  G.  E.  Lessing.  A 
second  translation  into  English  was  made  by  Edward  Bellamy  in  1698, 
with  the  title  The  Tryal  of  Wits.  Dr  J.  M.  Guardia  :  Essai  siir  f  Oiivrage 
de  f.  Huarte  is  an  able  and  thorough  treatise  on  Huarte,  Paris  1853. 


cxx  Introduction 

indicates  natural  ability,  both  in  the  aspect  of  ready  compre- 
hension and  in  that  of  faitliful  retention.  The  play  of  children 
reveals  their  real  mental  inclinations,  for  they  show  their  real 
nature  when  at  play. 

This  psychological  study  is  to  be  turned  to  practical  account. 
"Every  two  or  three  months  let  the  masters  deliberate  and 
judge  with  paternal  affection  and  grave  discretion,  concerning 
the  minds  of  their  pupils,  and  api)oint  each  boy  to  that  work 
for  which  he  seems  most  fit.. ..When  unwilling  minds  are  driven 
to  uncongenial  work,  we  see  that  almost  all  things  turn  out 
wrong  and  distorted^"  Boys  with  minds  unsuited  for  "letters" 
should  not  be  unduly  trained  in  them,  and  even  those  who 
have  been  admitted  into  the  school  should  not  be  advanced 
to  those  parts  of  a  subject  for  which  they  manifest  no  aptitude"-. 
In  the  treatment  of  Higher  Studies,  speaking  of  spiritual  sub- 
jects, Vives  advises  the  teacher*'',  or  shall  we  not  say  in  this 
instance?  the  priest,  to  study  psychology*.  Could  the  argument 
be  better  put:  "The  study  of  man's  soul  exercises  a  most 
helpful  influence  on  all  kinds  of  knowledge,  because  our  know- 
ledge is  determined  by  the  intelligence  and  grasp  of  our  minds, 
not  by  the  things  themselves."  Vives'  inclusion  of  the  con- 
sideration of  the  psychological  attitude  of  the  jurisconsult  is 
parallelled  by  his  description  of  the  psychological  adaptability 
which  should  distinguish  the  physician  in  his  treatment  of  the 
sick  man\ 

The  lie  Anima  is  a  comprehensive  treatise  founded  on 
Aristode's  book  with  the  same  title,  but  written  in  the  spirit  of 
one  "accustomed  to  give  his  assent  to  reason  rather  than  to 
human  authority"."     It  deals  with  a  large  number  of  subjects, 

'  p.  82  infra. 

^  As  e.g.  in  Nature-Studies — see  p.  169. 

'^  The  actual  word  used  by  Vives  is  "doctor.'' 

*  p.  211  infra. 

*  p.  225  infra. 

*  p.  213  infra. 


Vn>es  on   Education  cxxi 

amongst  which  are :  sensation  and  the  separate  senses,  cognition, 
reason,  judgment,  language,  contemplation,  will,  sleep ',  dreams, 
old  age,  death,  immortality-.  In  addition  Vives  treats  of  the 
feelings  and  passions  including  love,  hate,  joy,  hope,  anger, 
envy,  jealousy,  grief,  fear,  shame  and  pridel 

The  independence  of  Vives  from  Aristotle  may  be  demon- 
strated by  his  illustrations.  When  speaking  of  two  associated 
ideas  \recordaiio  gemina]  he  says,  "it  often  happens  that  our 
mind  travels  more  readily  from  the  lesser  to  the  greater  than 
vice-versa,  meaning  by  the  greater,  the  more  excellent.  For 
instance,  as  often  as  I  see  a  house  at  Brussels,  which  is  opposite 
to  the  Royal  Palace,  Idiaqueus  comes  into  my  mind,  for  he  is 
the  occupier  of  it.  It  was  in  that  house  very  often,  as  far  as  his 
business  would  allow,  we  talked  for  a  long  time  over  matters 
most  pleasant  to  both  of  us.  Now,  as  often  as  I  revolve  the  idea 
of  Idiaqueus  in  my  mind,  I  do  not  think  of  the  Palace,  because 
the  memory  of  my  friend  and  his  house  is  more  noteworthy 
to  me  than  the  idea  of  the  Royal  Palace.  It  is  the  same  with 
sounds,  tastes,  smells.  When  I  was  a  boy  at  Valencia,  I  suffered 
from  fever.  Whilst  my  taste  was  perverted,  I  ate  cherries. 
For  many  years  afterwards,  whenever  I  tasted  fruit,  I  not 
only  recalled  the  fever  but  also  seemed  to  experience  it  again. 

1  There  are  at  least  eight  quotations  from  Vives'  de  Anima  which 
I  have  noted  in  Robert  Burton's  Anatomy  of  Melancholy  (1621).  One  is 
the  passage  where  Vives  wonders  how  schoohnen  could  sleep  quietly,  "and 
were  not  terrified  in  the  night,  or  walk  in  the  dark,  they  had  such  mon- 
strous questions  and  the  thought  of  such  terrible  matters  all  day  long." 
Burton  also  quotes  from  \^ives'  de  Institutione  Christianae  Feininae,  the 
Commentaries  on  St  Augustine's  Civitas  Dei,  the  de  Causis  Corrtiptaruvi 
Arlitun,  and  the  de  Veritate  Fidei  Christia?iae. 

2  On  the  above  topics  of  the  de  Anima  et  Vita  Dr  Gerhard  Hoppe  has 
written:  Die  Psychologie  des J.  L.  Vives,  Berlin  1901. 

■*  On  this  part  of  Vives'  de  Anima,  a  monograph  has  been  written  by 
Roman  Fade:  Die  Affektenlehre  des  J.  L.  Vives,  Miinster-i.-W.  1893. 
Vives  strikingly  says  in  his  Preface  to  the  de  Anima,  Psychology  presents 
special  dithculties  "because  we  have  nothing  above  and  beyond  the  mind, 
which  can  look  down  and  judge  on  it  below." 


cxxii  lufroductioii 

Wherefore  it  behoves  us  to  let  the  '  clues '  intended  to  stir  up 
our  memory,  be  quite  bare  of  importance,  lest  they  should 
destroy  the  significance  of  what  they  are  to  suggest  to  us." 

Interesting  as  Vives  is  on  the  subject  of  Association  of 
Ideas,  pedagogically  he  is  still  more  significant  in  his  declara- 
tion that  "the  senses  are  our  first  teachers'."  Sight  is,  says 
Vives,  the  chief  of  the  senses,  from  the  point  of  view  of  know- 
ledge. But  after  a  certain  stage  of  knowledge  has  been  reached, 
the  sense  of  hearing  teaches  us  in  a  wider  reach,  .on  greater 
subjects  of  thought,  and  in  less  time,  than  sight.  For  we 
receive  in  a  minimum  of  time,  through  teaching,  what  took 
a  vast  time  to  become  a  matter  of  knowledge  at  all,  and  hearing 
was  therefore  well  termed  by  Aristotle,  "the  sense  of  learning." 
It  is  at  this  point  that  Vives  introduces  a  reference  to  a  deaf 
and  dumb  man  who  became  a  student.  The  incident  was  told 
by  Rodolph  Agricola^,  who  stated  that  he  had  seen  the  man. 
Vives  expresses  amazement,  since  he  recognises  that  nothing 
is  easier  than  to  learn  by  listening  to  a  teacher,  if  one  has  the 
sense  of  hearing.  But  God  has  wonderfully  extended  the  power 
of  learning  that  it  is  possible  to  become  self-taught,  and  a  man 
may  become  his  own  teacher. 

Language-teaching  in  Education.  There  was  una- 
nimity amongst  the  scholars  of  Vives'  time,  whether  they 
belonged  to  the  old  order  of  mediaevalism  or  to  the  new  order 

'  In  the  section  dc  Discendi  Katione,  in  \.\\&  de  Anima,  Bk.  ii.  cap.  8. 
Precisely  the  same  statement  from  Rousseau  in  his  Emile  has  received 
high  commendation. 

-  In  the  de  Inventione  Dialectica.  In  connexion  with  the  story  of  the 
deaf  and  dumb  man  quoted  by  Vives,  it  is  worth  noting  that  the  first 
known  systematic  attempt  to  educate  the  deaf,  was  made  in  Spain,  where 
Petrus  Pontius,  a  Benedictine  monk,  taught  the  deaf  to  speak  by  instruct- 
ing them  first  in  writing,  "then  pointing  out  to  them  the  objects  signified 
by  the  written  characters,  and  finally  guiding  them  to  the  motions  of  the 
tongue,  etc.,  which  correspond  to  the  characters."  (Quoted  from  the 
Philosophia  Sacra  of  F.  Vallesius,  1 590,  by  Sir  Wm.  Hamilton  :  Discussions, 
etc.,  1866,  p.  177.) 


Vwes  on  Education  cxxiii 

of  the  Renascence  as  to  the  necessity  of  training  scholars  in 
the  use  of  Latin.  But  this  unanimity  was  apparent  rather  than 
real.  Accordingly,  in  his  attempt  to  lay  down  the  conditions 
of  Latin  teaching,  Vives  was  beset  with  difficulties  behind  and 
before.  The  mediaeval  teaching  of  Latin  was  soaked  in 
corruption  by  its  inseparable  connexion  with  dialectic.  In  his 
treatise  against  the  Pseudo-dialecticians  and  in  the  Causes  of  the 
Corruptions  of  the  Arts,  Vives  had  copiously  and  irresistibly 
illustrated  the  barbarity  of  diction  and  incorrectness  of  grammar 
of  the  mediaeval  Latinity.  Erasmus  tells  us  that  the  very 
schoolmasters  delighted  in  hitting  upon  such  words  as  "bub- 
sequa,  bovinator,  manticulator,  or  other  obsolete  crabbed 
terms."  One  of  them  after  twenty  years  of  the  study  of 
grammar  made  it  the  chief  part  of  his  prayers  that  his  life 
might  be  spared  till  he  had  learned  how  rightly  to  distinguish 
between  the  eight  parts  of  speech,  "which  no  grammarian, 
whether  Greek  or  Latin,  had  yet  accurately  done."  Vives,  as 
we  have  seen,  had  bemoaned  the  Latinity  of  the  dialecticians 
and  had  asserted  that  Cicero  would  not  know  or  understand 
their  conversation  if  they  spoke  their  "  Latin  "  in  his  presence. 
Erasmus  puts  an  answer  to  the  criticism  of  their  Latin  into  the 
mouths  of  the  divines,  that  it  is  not  for  the  dignity  "  of  Holy 
Writ,  our  profession,  that  we  should  be  compelled  to  follow 
any  grammar  rules."  For  it  was  a  "great  majesty  of  these 
•Duns  doctors,  if  to  them  only  it  be  lawful  to  speak  false  Latin." 
They  had  no  need  to  pride  themselves  on  this  power,  adds 
Erasmus,  "for  many  cobblers  and  clouters  (patchers)  can  do 
that  as  well  as  they." 

The  satirical  account  of  Latin  as  it  was  learned  and  taught 
at  the  beginning  of  the  i6th  century  given  by  Erasmus  in  the 
Praise  of  Folly  was  a  whip  and  a  scourge  to  the  schoolmasters 
and  dialecticians  and  divines  of  the  old  order,  on  account  of 
their  crude  and  corrupt  Latin.  It  is  easy,  in  the  light  of  later 
knowledge,  to  underestimate  the  ostentatious  official  strength 
of  the  mediaeval  forces  in  the  days  of  Erasmus  and  Vives.     It 


cxxiv  [ ntrodiiction 

was  only  satire  of  the  boldest  stamp  that  could  make  reform  of 
studies  possible.  The  Praise  of  Folly  was  trenchant  and  elo- 
quent enough  to  become  popular,  and  to  turn  the  forces  of 
scholasticism  into  ridicule.  But  Erasmus'  book  did  not  stand 
alone.  The  Letters  of  Obscure  Men  has  been  called  the  national 
satire  of  Germany,  for  which  country  Herder  held  that  this 
book  "had  effected  incomparably  more  than  Hudibras  for 
England,  or  Gargantua  for  France,  or  the  Knight  of  La 
Mancha  for  Spain'."  But  the  extent  of  the  influence  of  the 
Letters  of  Obscure  Men,  whilst  no  doubt  intensively  greatest  in 
Germany,  was  not  only  wide  as  humanism  itself,  but  so  subtly 
clever  and  innocent  (on  the  surface)  were  these  Letters  that 
the  very  foes  they  attacked,  the  masters,  preceptors,  doctors, 
licentiates,  cursors  in  theology,  members  of  orders,  were  half 
in  doubt  whether  the  attack  was  not  directed  against  the 
"poets"  as   the  humanists  were  called. 

This  triumph  of  literary  art  which  gives  the  most  realistic 
picture  of  contemporary  academic  and  literary  life  of  the  first 
part  of  the  i6th  century  outside  of  the  humanistic  camp,  was, 
to  quote  the  words  of  Mr  F.  G.  Stokes,  "the  mirthful  trumpet 
blast  heard  within  the  ramparts  of  mediaevalism,  that  announced 
if  it  did  not  cause  their  impending  fall'-." 

Naturally  no  subject  of  school-teaching  suffered  so  much  as 
the  Latin  language  from  the  mediaeval  oppression  of  corrupt 
dialectics  and  grammar.  In  a  concrete  form  this  can  be  illus- 
trated by  citing  a  work  written  by  Henry  Bebel,  called  the 
Misuse  of  the  Latin  Language  (1500),  in  which  a  list  is  made  of 
corrupt  Latin  words  then  used.     This  was  followed  by  a  more 

1  Sh-  Wm.  Hamilton,  Discussions,  3rd  ed.  p.  203. 

-  F.  G.  Stokes,  Epistolae  Ohscurorum  Virorum.  The  Latin  Text, 
with  an  English  Rendering,  Notes,  aiid  an  Historical  Introduction,  1909. 
This  excellently  edited  work  now  renders  accessible  to  the  English  reader 
a  remarkable  book.  No  books  for  the  student  are  comparable  in  the 
light  they  throw  upon  the  problem  which  met  the  humanists  in  their 
struggle  against  mediaeval  survivals,  with  the  above  work  togetlier  with 
the  Praise  of  Folly  of  Erasmus. 


Vives  on  Education  cxxv 

comprehensive  list  compiled  by  Cornelius  Crocus  \  with  a  view 
of  improving  spoken  Latin  by  supplying  words  to  be  avoided. 

On  the  positive  side  of  correct  and  eloquent  expression  in 
Latin  speech  and  writing,  one  book  of  special  influence  had 
been  published,  before  Vives  wrote  his  de  Disciplinis,  viz.  the 
Elegances  of  the  Latin  Tongue  of  Laurentius  Valla.  This 
work  dealt  very  fully  with  Latin  syntax,  inflexions,  and  synonyms 
of  expression,  and  although  Vives  criticised  it,  as  he  felt  bound 
to  do,  on  points  of  scholarship,  yet  it  made  a  notable  advance' 
on  all  its  predecessors  in  the  possibilities  of  Latin  teaching. 
And  Erasmus,  for  the  profit  of  teachers  and  students,  provided 
the  valuable  and  widely-spread  little  book  on  Variety  of  expres- 
sion (the  de  Copia)  in  15 ii. 

Humanism,  therefore,  stood  for  Latin  as  the  language  of 
scholarship,  as  did  mediaevalism,  but  it  was  for  pure  Latin,  for 
conversational  purposes  and  for  writing.  Pure  Latin  meant 
Latin  such  as  Cicero  or  any  other  educated  Roman  would 
have  spoken,  and  therefore  in  the  Renascence  view,  must  be 
associated  with  the  reading  of  classical  authors,  who  alone  con- 
tain what  can  be  known  as  to  Latin  usage  in  speech  and  in  com- 
position, since  the  mediaeval  tradition  of  the  old  written  Latin 
was  utterly  untrustworthy,  and  the  continuity  of  the  old  rustic 
dialects  of  Latin  had  developed  in  accordance  with  the  needs 
of  the  daily  life  of  the  people,  and  outside  of  literary  usages.  In 
other  words  the  Renascence  view  demanded  that  classical  Latin 
should  be  brought  back  to  life  again.  In  the  next  generation 
to  Vives,  Sturm  keenly  laments  the  disabilities  of  the  modern 
compared  with  the  Roman  child.      "Cicero  was  but  twenty 

^  The  title  is  Fan-ago  sordidortun  verboriim,  sive  Augiae  stabidum 
repurgatiwi,  c.  1520.  See  L.  Massebieau,  Les  Colloipies  Sco/aires  dn 
Seizihne  Sihle.,  p.  43. 

^  Hallam  says :  "If  those  who  have  done  most  for  any  science,  are  those 
who  have  carried  it  farthest  from  the  point  whence  they  set  out,  philology 
seems  to  owe  quite  as  much  to  Valla  as  to  anyone  who  has  come  since.' 
lutrod.  to  Lit.  of  Europe,  Part  1.  chap.  3. 


r 


cxxvi  Introduction 

years  of  age  when  lie  delivered  his  speeches  in  behalf  of 
Quintius  and  Roscius;  but  in  these  days,  where  is  there  the 
man,  even  of  eighty,  who  could  make  such  speeches?" 

Erasmus,  as  he  did  not  hesitate  to  make  known,  wished  to 
be  "a  citizen  of  the  whole  world,  not  of  a  single  city,"  and 
regarded  Latin  as  practically  the  only  possible  language   for 
literature  and  education.     His  opinion  was,  as  Mr  Woodward 
puts  it,  "that  nothing  justifies  the  abandonment  of  a  universal, 
highly  developed  and   historic   speech   such  as  is  Latin,   for 
a  series  of  local,  rudimentary  and  obscure  jargons^" 
' —  Vives  showed  a  distinct  independence  on  the  subject  of 
language  teaching.      Like   Erasmus  he   hated  the  barbarism 
of  the  Latin  of  the  old  schooTsr    Speech  is  the  instrument  of 
human  society,  for  the  exercise  of  the  social  instinct.     Hence 
the  particular  language  used,  this  or  that,  will  primarily  depend 
J     on  its  effectiveness  as  a  means  of  communication  and  second- 
/     arily  on  its  resotirces  for  eloquence  and  brilliancy'. 

A  universal  language.  The  original  language  which 
Adam  spoke  was  probably  perfect.  Hence  that  would  be  the 
desirable  universal  language,  had  not  sin  led  to  the  punishment 
of  a  Babel  of  languages.  Vives  considers  that  as  things  are,  a 
common  language,  at  any  rate  amongst  Christians,  is  a  unifying 
force  for  religion,  for  commerce  and  for  general  knowledge. 
' —  And  the  Latin,  above  all  languages  known  to  him,  seems  to 
satisfy  best  most  of  the  suggested  conditions".  For  the  Latin 
language,  formerly  spoken  when  so  many  branches  of  knowledge 
were  best  known,  the  mother-tongue  of  so  many  distinguished 
men  of  intellect  and  activity,  who  by  their  writings  enriched  its 
vocabulary,  provides  the  condition  of  "a  man  who  has  the  good 
fortune  to  be  born  in  a  well-taught  state."  Two  considerations 
have  special  weight  in  connexion  with  Latin,  first  the  wealth  of 

1  W.  H.  Woodward,   Erasvnis  lonceruing  Education,  p.  63. 
^  See  p.  39  and  p.  90  infra. 

^  Book  III.  chap,  i,  beginning  p.  91  infra,  gives  the  full  discussion  of 
the  ipiestion. 


Vives  on  Education  cxxvii 

knowledge  contained  in  it,  and  secondly  its  diffusion  through 
so  many  nations,  that  to  give  it  up  would  cause  confusion  in 
the  world  of  knowledge,  and  a  great  estrangement  amongst  men, 
on  account  of  their  ignorance  of  any  other  languages \  This 
objection  specially  applied  to  scholars  of  the  time,  who  either 
did  not  know  any  other  language,  or  at  least,  like  Erasmus, 
were  unwilling  to  use  them.  Vives  shows  solicitude  also  for 
the  value  of  a  common  language  for  what  we  call  now  mission- 
ary purposes.  If  only  Mahometans  had  some  language  in 
common  with  Christians,  he  believes  they  "would  cast  in  their 
lot  with  us^."     It  is  some  common  language  that  Vives  desires. 

-  .Latin  and  other  Languages.  Though  the  practical 
advantages  of  the  adoption  of  Latin  as  a  common  language 
attract  Vives,  compared  with  Laurentius  Valla  he  is  cold  in  its 
praised  For  Vives  there  is  no  special,  or  at  least,  unique 
formal  discipline  in  Latin  to  warrant  the  depreciation  of  other 
languages.  Speech  is  given  to  satisfy  a  need,  and  is  for  use, 
developed  by  use,  not  for  display  of  erudition*;  therefore 
that  language  should  be  used  by  any  student  in  which  he  can 

1  p-  92  iJtJra. 

2  pp.  92-3  infra.  Vives  had  an  especial  interest  in  the  Arabic  of 
Mahometans  through  being  a  native  of  S.-E.  Spain.  He  leaves  Hebrew 
for  the  study  of  the  Old  Testament  as  optional,  if  the  student  is  strong- 
minded  enough  to  withstand  Jewish  falsification.     See  p.  95. 

■  *  Naturally  the  Italians  were  the  keenest  protagonists  of  Latin.  Laur- 
entius Valla  said  : 

"  Our  ancestors  have  given  to  the  nations  the  Latin  language,  a  divine 
present,  true  food  of  the  mind.  We  have  lost  Rome,  lost  the  Empire,  and 
lost  domination,  not  by  our  fault  but  through  the  misfortune  of  the  times. 
However,  thanks  to  this  domination,  still  more  glorious,  we  now  reign 
over  a  great  part  of  the  earth.  Italy  is  ours,  ours  is  France ;  ours  Spain, 
Germany,  Pannonia,  Dalmatia,  Illyria  and  many  other  countries.  For  the 
Roman  Empire  extends  wherever  the  Latin  tongue  is  spoken.... How  long, 
Quirites  (for  thus  I  call  all  those  who  use  the  Latin  tongue),  are  you  going 
to  permit  your  city  to  be  occupied  by  the  Gauls,  i.e.  pure  Latinity  to  be 
overwhelmed  by  barbarism?"     Elegantiae  Latinae  Linguae  (Praefatio). 

'^  p.  96  infj-a. 


cxxviii  Introduction 

best  communicate  his  thoughts  and  knowledge.  Vives  steps 
apart  from  his  brother  humanists,  from  Laurentius  Valla,  from 
Erasmus,  and  enters  a  territory  almost  entirely  his  own,  in  the 
early  Renascence,  when  he  says:  "We  ought  to  welcome  a 
good  sentence  expressed  in  French  or  Spanish,  whilst  we  should 
not  countenance  corrupt  Latin'." 

For  the  rest,  with  his  mind  bent  on  the  utilitarian  aspect 
(in  the  best  sense  of  the  term)  of  speech,  Vives  demanded  that, 
whatever  language  was  used,  the  real  matter  of  importance  was 
the  learning  of  the  "solid  things^"  written  in  it.  "Let  students 
remember,"  says  Vives,  "that  if  nothing  is  added  to  their 
knowledge  by  the  study  of  a  language,  they  have  only  arrived 
at  the  gates  ot  knowledge,  or  are  still  hovering  in  the  entrance- 
hall.  Let  them  remember  that  it  is  of  no  more  use  to  know 
Latin  and  Greek  than  French  or  Spanish,  if  the  value  of  the 
knowledge  which  can  be  obtained  from  the  learned  languages 
is  left  out  of  the  account^."  And,  again,  to  the  same  purpose  he 
says'",  "What  are  languages  other  than  words?  Or  what  im- 
portance is  it  to  know  Latin,  Greek,  Spanish  and  French,  if 
the  knowledge  contained  in  those  languages  were  taken  away 
from  them?" 

Vives'  doctrine  of  the  equality  of  languages  as  instruments  for 
the  adequate  communication  of  the  knowledge  of  "solid  things," 
as  well  as  of  the  thoughts  and  judgments  of  one  individual  to 
another,  is  too  remarkable  in  a  writer  of  the  early  part  of  the 

'  p.  296  infra. 

-  Vives  has  been  suggested  as  a  source  of  many  of  the  educational  views 
in  the  Tractate  of  Education  (see  Nineteenth  Century,  Oct.  1909)  in  an 
article:  "^  Suggested  Source  of  Milton'' s  Tractate.''^  With  the  passages 
cited  from  Vives  above,  may  be  compared  from  the  Tractate:  "Though  a 
linguist  should  pride  himself  to  have  all  the  tongues  that  Babel  cleft  the 
world  into,  yet  if  he  have  not  studied  the  solid  things  in  them  as  well  as 
the  words  and  lexicons,  he  were  nothing  so  much  to  be  esteemed  a  learned 
man,  as  any  yeoman  or  tradesman  competently  w  ise  in  his  mother  dialect 
only." 

•'  p.   163  infra.  ■*  p.  274  infra. 


Vives  on  Education  cxxix 

1 6th  century,  to  be  established  upon  what  might  seem  to  be  a 
chance  utterance.  For  it  emphasises  to  a  still  higher  degree 
the  realistic  aspect  of  his  educational  ideas,  which  we  saw  he 
had  developed  in  his  advocacy  of  Nature-studies.  It  may 
perhaps  be  said  that  nothing  more  distinctive  as  to  the  position 
of  Latin,  relatively  to  other  languages  in  education  was  written 
even  by  John  Locke',  than  the  following,  which  may  be 
regarded  as  Vives'  manifesto  on  the  subject : 

'"To  be  eloquent,'  says  Quintilian,  'is  to  express  all  the 
thoughts  which  you  have  conceived  in  your  mind,  and  to 
convey  them  to  those  who  listen.'  Unless  this  is  done,  all  the 
higher  parts  of  Rhetoric  are  superfluous,  and  it  is  like  a  sword, 
hidden  within,  and  sticking  to,  the  sheath.  What  particular 
language  is  employed  is  of  no  consequence.  For  in  the  Scythian, 
French,  German  and  Spanish  languages  there  are  many  elo- 
quent men.  If  a  man  is  learned  and  fluent  in  Latin  and  Greek 
he  will  not  appear  to  be  so,  to  a  man  who  speaks  some  other 
language  than  those.  For  Latinists  and  Graecians  are  barbarians 
to  the  Parthians  and  Medes.  Livy  was  more  eloquent  than 
many  who  had  been  born  at  Rome,  though  PoUio  said  of  him 
that  he  talked  with  wisdom,  but  in  the  dialect  of  his  native 
Padua.  Perchance,  he  was  more  eloquent  than  Pollio  himself! 
The  same  Asinius  Pollio  said  of  Latro  Portius  that  'he  was 
eloquent  in  his  own  native  Spanish.'  How  much  more  fluent 
and  eloquent  was  Anacharsis  than  many  Athenians,  whether  he 
was  discussing  subjects  of  nature  or  of  morals,  in  Scythian  or 
in  Greek,  though  he  committed  solecisms,  or  rather  Scythicisms 
in  the  latter?  No  one,  indeed,  ought  to  like  or  approve  of 
what  is  filthy  or  vicious  in  a  language.     From  the  readiness  to 

1  Lange  (pp.  850-1)  deals  with  the  comparison  of  Locke's  general  views 
on  education  with  those  of  Vives,  disclosing  considerable  differences  through 
the  fact  that  Locke  no  longer  regarded  Latin  as  a  spoken  common  language, 
and  the  separation  of  the  principle  of  utility  from  the  religious  factor,  which 
includes  in  its  scope  the  future  as  well  as  the  present  world,  in  Vives 
view. 

F.  W.  i 


cxxx  futroduction 

pass  by  the  bad  have  proceeded  many  of  the  disasters  which 
have  befallen  the  arts,  as  well  as  degeneration  in  the  power  of 
judgment.  But,  assuredly,  if  the  option  is  offered,  who  is  there 
who  would  not  vastly  prefer  impure  and  faulty  speech,  con- 
cerned with  great  and  lofty  material,  rather  than  the  most 
elegant  and  ornate  language  elaborated  over  trifles'?" 

The  Teaching  of  Latin  Grammar".  Having  adopted 
the  general  principle  of  utility  Vives  regards  grammar  teaching 
in  Latin  as  desirable  just  so  far  as  it  furthers  the  end  of  acquir- 
ing the  practical  ability  to  use  Latin,  viz.  for  speaking  purposes, 
the  reading  of  authors  and  the  "solid  things"  in  them,  and  for 
composition.  He  is  in  entire  revolt  against  the  mediaeval 
importation  of  metaphysical  conceptions  into  grammar,  and  the 
laborious  compilations  of  grammatical  rules  and  exceptions 
with  which  the  boys  of  the  time  were  plagued.  All  the  arts, 
in  Vives'  opinion,  arise  from  nature,  and  accordingly  grammar 
originally  is  only  the  statement  of  ordinary  usage  in  ordinary 
natural  speech.  It  is  an  inductive  art,  and  the  failing  of  the 
contemporary  schoolmasters  was  in  regarding  the  rules  of 
grammar,  only  to  be  gathered  by  long  processes  of  induction, 
as  if  they  were  the  commands  of  artificial  dictatorial  authorita- 
tiveness,  or  a  priori  prescriptions  which  the  boy  was  to  learn 
first,  and  then  deductively  apply  them  to  the  accidence  of  the 
words  and  the  syntax  of  the  constructions  which  he  found  in 
the  authors  he  read.  Hence  the  custom  had  arisen  of  learning 
the  whole  art  of  grammar  first,  with  rules  and  exceptions  before 
proceeding  to  reading  authors,  who,  apparently,  were  chiefly  of 

1  De  Caitsis  Corruptarum  Artiuin,   Vivis  Opera  vi.  p.   i8o. 

2  Vives  states  his  idea  of  a  grammar-teacher  [grainmaticus):  "The 
office  of  a  grammar-teacher  is  to  form  the  mouth  and  the  hand  of  the  child ; 
thence  to  build  up  his  intelligence,  so  that  he  may  be  delivered  up  to  the 
pursuit  of  the  other  arts  supported  by  the  greatest  help  possible  from  the 
authors  whom  he  has  studied  under  the  guidance  of  the  grammarian." 
Vivis  Opera  vi.  pp.  78-9. 


Vives  on  Education  cxxxi 

use  for  the  verification  of  the  grammar  rules.    Against  this  type 
of  procedure,  Vives  vigorously  protested. 

We  have  seen  that  he  regarded  the  name  of  grammar-teacher 
as  most  honourable,  and  required  him  to  be  a  man  "furnished 
and  adorned  with  literature."  Only  such  teachers,  he  thought, 
could  duly  train  youth.  Often  the  old  type  of  teacher,  says 
Vives,  attempted  to  draw  'the  inmieasurable  stream  of  linguistic 
usage  through  their  grammatical  formulae,"  whereas  Grammar, 
Logic,  and  Rhetoric  were  all  observed  and  derived  from  the 
speech  employed  in  ordinary  conversation.  Usage,  in  Roman 
times,  was  not  determined  by  the  grammatical  rules.  He  is 
quite  explicit  as  to  the  "corruptions"  which  have  followed  on 
the  perversity  of  these  grammarians.  "Grammarians  have  not 
only  weakened  and  broken  the  compass  of  speech  by  reducing 
it  into  the  meagre  and  penurious  prescript  of  grammar  rules;  but 
they  have  also  corrupted  it  with  many  errors,  in  that  they  have 
spoken  otherwise  than  they  ought  to  do;  well,  in  respect  of 
rules,  but  ill  in  respect  of  ordinary  usage,  which  is  the  lady  and 
mistress  of  speaking.  You  may  see  full  many  exact  masters  of 
grammatical  art  in  this  manner  pollute  their  speech  with  foul 
enormities,  whilst  they  follow  grammatical  art  which  cannot  by 
any  devices  include  every  usage,  through  the  variety  of  usage, 
and  through  the  liability  of  language  to  change.  Nor  does 
usage  always  follow  analogy.  Accordingly,  grammarians  could 
riot  duly  collect  and  bring  every  detail  into  their  categories. 
Add  to  these  considerations  the  fact  that  changes  constantly 
were  taking  place  at  the  arbitrament  of  the  multitude,  in  whose 
hands  is  the  spoken  language.  Now,  of  course,  since  we  have 
no  people  of  the  Latin  or  Greek  speech,  the  laws  of  those 
languages  can  only  be  gathered  from  the  writings  of  authors  ^" 

^  The  Causes  of  the  Corruptions  of  the  Arts,  Vivis  Opera  w.'p.  79.  The 
translation  above  is  given  almost  entirely  in  the  words  of  Joseph  Webbe 
who  quotes  (with  acknowledgment)  from  Vives  very  freely  in  his  Appeale  to 
Trtitk,  1622.  For  an  account  of  the  controversy  about  the  teaching  of 
grammar,  see  the  chapter  on  "The  Grammar  War"  in  Foster  Watson, 
English  Gramtnar  Schools,  p.  276  et  seqq.     Vives  seems  to  be  the  source 

iz 


cxxxii  Introduction 

The  war  was  to  come  between  Grammar  and  the  Reading 
of  Authors.  It  was  to  be  a  long  war,  and  was  not  settled  even 
by  the  time  of  John  Locke,  who  still  had  to  complain  that 
grammar-teaching  almost  monopolised  the  attention  of  the 
school  teacher'.  But  Locke  still  considers  that  Latin  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  a  gentleman.  His  remedy  is  sub- 
stantially the  application  of  the  method  suggested  by  Vives, 
and  afterwards  by  Montaigne,  i.e.  let  children  learn  Latin  as 
they  learn  PVench  "by  talking  and  reading-." 

The  difficulties  of  applying  this  simple  sounding  alternative 
of  reading  of  authors  in  the  place  of  grammar,  even  at  the  early 
stages,  were,  in  the  time  of  Vives,  undoubtedly  formidable. 
Vives'  own  statement,  which  seems  to  have  greatly  impressed 
Webbe,  in  1622,  shows  how  Grammar  had  so  to  say  absorbed 
literature.     Webbe  thus  translates  from  Vives: 

"This  little  creeping  fountain  (of  grammar)  having  in  time, 

from  which  the  discus.sion  started  in  modern  times,  though,  of  course, 
Quintihan  had  pointed  out  to  the  grammarians  of  his  time  that  "custom" 
is  the  best  schoolmistress  for  languages.  The  position  of  Vives  and  of 
Webbe  (who  is  one  of  the  most  emphatic  of  all  English  writers  on  teaching 
Latin,  by  reading  and  speaking  it,  rather  than  from  the  preparatory  train- 
ing of  text-books  of  grammar)  is  that,  on  the  whole,  the  method  for  learning 
a  foreign  language  is  in  principle  that  by  which  we  learned  our  vernacular. 
The  most  valiant  pioneer  in  our  own  generation  of  the  new  movement 
(which  indeed  is  the  old  movement  of  Vives)  in  language  teaching  was  the 
late  W.  H.  Widgery,  in  that  excellent  brochure  The  Teaching  of  Languages 
in  Schools  (1888),  which  even  now  in  the  large  multiplication  of  books  for  the 
teaching  of  languages,  no  thoughtful  educationist  should  omit  to  consult. 

1  Locke  says  (1693):  "When  I  consider  what  ado  is  made  about  a 
little  Latin  and  Greek,  how  many  years  are  spent  in  it  and  what  a  noise  and 
business  it  makes  to  no  purpose,  I  can  hardly  forbear  thinking  that  the 
parents  of  children  still  live  in  fear  of  the  schoolmaster's  rod,  which  they 
look  on  as  the  only  instrument  of  education ;  as  a  language  or  two  to  be  its 
whole  business." 

-  See  Ascham's  Scholemaster  (Mayor's  ed. ),  p.  6.    Locke  however  regard 
the  method  of  learning  Latin  by  conversation  as  having  become  practically 
impossible,  and  advocates  the  device  of  interlineal  translations  of  Latin 
authors. 


Vives  oil  Education  cxxxiii 

through  continual  and  universal  employment,  gotten  credit, 
wealth,  and  patronage,  grew  ambitious;  and,  under  the  first 
title  of  entire  simplicity,  hath  at  last  engrossed  rivers,  streams, 
and  branches,  out  of  Orators,  Poets,  and  Historians;  yea,  and 
almost  out  of  all  the  greatest  arts  and  sciences;  and  is  become 
a  full,  swollen,  and  overflowing  Sea;  which,  by  a  strong  hand 
arrogates  unto  itself  {a/id  hath  ivell  near  gotten)  the  whole 
traffic  in  learning,  but  espeHally  for  languages^" 

\Latin-speaking.  Whatever  the  difficulties  might  be  of 
overcoming  the  dominant  tradition  of  preparing  for  language- 
teaching  by  grammar  text-books,  Vives  was  perfectly  clear  as 
to  the  rightness  of  his  plea  for  at  least  minimising  their  use. 
The  way  we  learn  our  mother-language  contains  within  it  the 
principle  for  acquiring  any  second  language.  "If  we  lived 
amongst  a  people  speaking  Latin  or  Greek,  I  should  prefer 
to  observe  their  linguistic  usages  and  to  converse  with  them  for 
one  year  than  to  bestow  ten  years  to  this  purpose  under  the 
best  and  most  reputed  schoolmasters"." 

Latin-speaking,  therefore,  formed  a  main  feature  of  Vives' 
scheme  of  early  instruction  in  Latin ^.  Pronunciation  is  first  to 
be  carefully  taught.  Correctness  here  is  essential,  for  those 
who  speak  good  Latin  and  Greek  will  understand  one  another, 
but  the  Spanish  speaker  of  his  particular  kind  of  dog-Latin  is 
not  understood  by  the  German  speaker  of  some  other  sort  of 
jargon  Latin"*.     The  minimum  of  Grammar  is  laid  down  l)y 

1  Webbe,  Appealc  to  Truth,  p.  3,  translating  from  Vives. 

'^  Vives  also  writes  with  his  accustomed  urgency  to  the  same  effect  in  the 
Against  the  Pseudo-Dialecticians,  in  a  passage  which  should  be  quoted: 
"Latin  and  Greek  speech  came  before  grammatical,  rhetorical,  dialectical, 
formulae.... We  do  not  speak  Latin  in  a  particular  way  because  the  Latin 
grammar  orders  it  to  be  so  spoken,  but  on  the  contrary,  the  Latin  grammar 
orders  us  to  speak  a  particular  way  because  the  Romans  spoke  in  that 
way."     Vivis  Ope7-a  in.  p.  41. 

^  See  Book  in.  chap.  3,  p.  107  et  seqq.  For  training  in  Latin-speaking 
Vives  composed  the  Exercitatio  or  School  Dialogues  (see  p.  li,  woK^"^  supra). 

'  p.  96. 


cxxxiv  fntroductioit 

Vivcs'.     'I'liL-n    begins    the    icadiiiy    <o'i    books,    all    much    as 
Aschani  planned   for  students  afterwards. 

Latin-speaking  in  the  pupil  requires  observation  of  the 
master's  speech,  and  calls  for  the  system  of  note-books  already 
referred  to-.  Memory  is  to  be  deliberately  cultivated''  so  as  to 
retain  correct  and  elegant  expressions  for  speech  and  writing. 

Speech  is  learned  by  the  pupil  speaking,  together  with  the 
master's  corrections  of  the  pupil  when  he  pronounces  wrongly 
and  speaks  incorrectly*.  So  in  composition,  in  the  early 
exercises  of  letter-writing,  of  free  composition,  or  of  translation, 
all  can  be  reduced  to  practice  on  the  part  of  the  pupil,  together 
with  direction  and  correction  of  mistakes  by  the  teacher®.  Vives' 
whole  treatment  is  to  throw  the  substantial  work  on  the  boy, 
to  exercise  his  activity  of  mind,  his  ingenuity,  his  judgment. 
The  paper-books,  double  translation,  repetition  of  his  new 
knowledge  to  others — all  serve  this  purpose".  The  secret  of 
all  advance  is  the  boy's  own  self-activity.  Therefore  Vives' 
maxim  is,  whatever  knowledge  is  attained,  whether  by  one's 
own  unaided  efforts,  or  from  instruction,   "turn  it  to  use." 

Mental  discipline  of  linguistic  studies.  The  appli- 
cation of  this  principle  of  self-activity  to  rhetoric  was  of  great 
significance.  Vives  by  dispensing  with  the  old  obsessions  of 
logic  and  grammar  made  room  for  the  study  of  rhetoric,  with 

'  p.  97  infra.  It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  when  the  boy  has  need  of  a 
grammat  Vives  recommends  the  text-book  "  passing  under  Erasmus'  name," 
l)Ut  which  as  \'ives  tells  us  was  ''  composed  by  Lily  and  revised  by  Erasmus." 
This  was  the  earlier  form  of  "  Lily,"  and  is  a  distinctly  progressive  short 
gi-ammar. 

-  p.  xxxviii  supra.  ''  p.  109.  ^  P-  iii- 

■■'  Rook  HI.  chaps.  3,  4,  5,  6. 

''  "Whatever  the  boys  have  heard  from  their  master  let  them  first 
repeat  to  fellow-pupils  more  advanced  than  themselves,  or  tt>  an  under- 
master  and  afterwards  to  the  master  himself,"  p.  no  infra.  Sir  Wm. 
Hamilton  says  that  all  authority  acquiesces  in  Vi\es'  conclusion  that 
"nothing  is  so  conducive  to  great  erudition  as  to  teach  what  one  knows." 
Discussions,  etc.,  1866  ed.  pp.  'i'j^i-'  n. 


Vives  on  Education  cxxxv 

emphasis  on  the  "inventions,"  viz.  collections  of  subject-matter 
of  composition  made  by  the  pupils  themselves,  and  with  forms 
of  eloquence,  to  be  best  cultivated  in  any  language  which  gave 
the  writer  the  most  spontaneity  of  expression.  This  was  the 
principle  of  the  reformed  logic  and  rhetoric  of  Pierre  de  la 
Ramee,  in  the  second  half  of  the  i6th  century,  and  in  the  de- 
velopment of  these  subjects  after  him.  These  reforms  led  to 
rhetoric  becoming  the  basis  of  a  training  which  proved  of  high 
significance,  for  instance  in  England,  in  preparing  our  literary 
men,  statesmen  and  gentlemen  in  the  latter  part  of  the  i6th 
and  through  the  first  half  of  the  17th  century^ 

In  the  time  of  Vives,  no  satisfactory  Latin  Dictionary 
existed  for  school  purposes  %  The  teaching  of  vocabularies 
therefore  had  to  be  undertaken  as  part  of  the  school-work  ^ 
and  the  teacher  was  required  to  make  notes  in  his  readings,  so 
as  to  supply  his  pupils  with  the  names  of  objects  not  likely  to 
be  mentioned  in  the  simple  books  he  was  reading.  The  turning- 
point  of  Dictionary  facilities  came  with  the  great  Dictionary*  of 
Robert  Estienne  (Stephanus)  which  appeared  in  1531,  the 
very  year  of  the  publication  of  the  de.  Disciplinis.  Besides 
compiling  his  great  Latin  Dictionary,  Estienne  prepared  a  small 
Dictionary  for  boys  (1550).  It  was  after  this  date  that  school- 
dictionaries  for  Latin  became  available^  Vives  declared"  that 
the  absence  of  adequate  Dictionaries  was  a  "great  lack."  But 
in  the  same  way  that,  at  the  present  time  in  the  science  studies 
of  schoolboys,  educationists  often  suggest  the  predominant 
value  of  apparatus  made  by  the  teacher  and  the  pupil  for  their 
own  experiments  and    demonstration   purposes,    so  with    the 

^  English  Grainmai-  Schools,  chap,  xxvii. 

■■^  p.  134.    The  hooks  for  the  advanced  student  for  consuUation  as  to  the 
meaning  of  words  are  named — for  Latin,  pp.  141-2,  and  for  Greek,  p.  150. 

^  PP-  I3.S-4- 

*   Thesaurus  Linguae  Latinae,  pubUshed  at  Paris. 

^  In  England  John  Withals  pubhshed  his  Short  Dictionarie  for  Yonge 
Beginners,  c.  1554. 

"    Vives  and  the  Renascence  Education  of  Women,  p.  -247. 


cxxxvi  Introduction 

early  i6th  century  Latin  studies,  the  necessity  for  the  pupil  of 
finding  out  for  himself  and  noting  down  in  his  Paper  book  the 
Ciceronian  usage  of  a  particular  word  or  phrase,  must  have 
resulted  in  a  kind  of  self-made  Dictionary.  From  the  necessary 
search  and  research,  there  must  have  arisen  an  educational  value 
in  the  intellectual  activity,  which  is  often  lacking  in  present- 
day  classical  teaching,  on  account  of  the  comprehensiveness  of 
text-books  provided;  leaving  little  for  the  pupil  to  do,  but  to 
appropriate  the  material  placed  in  his  hands  by  the  labour  of 
others.  Vives'  methods  are  therefore  more  analogous  to  those 
by  which  elementary  science  is  studied,  practically,  to-day. 

Latin  School  Authors.  The  early  Latin  studies  com- 
prise the  easy  reading  in  Latin  stories  and  little  verses  such  as 
those  of  Cato  or  Michael  Varinus,  then  the  letters  of  Pliny 
Caecilius  and,  of  course,  those  of  M.  T.  Cicero.  Vives  does 
not  hesitate  to  introduce  the  letters  of  ^^gidius  Calentius, 
though  he  was  not  an  ancient  but  a  Renascence  writer,  on  the 
ground  that  his  letters  were  suitable  for  boys'  interests  in 
reading.  Erasmus'  On  Variety  of  Expression  [de  Copia)  and 
on  Correct  Pronunciation  {dc  recta  Proniinciatione)  follow.  Then 
elementary  rhetoric  from  Quintilian,  Diomedes,  Mancinellus, 
or  John  Despauterius,  whilst  the  Tables  of  Peter  Mosellanus 
will  be  found  useful.  Then  the  boy  begins  composition 
seriously — first,  by  choosing  the  author's  own  words  and 
descriptions  for  subject-matter  on  his  theme,  mixed  with 
passages  of  his  own.  Then  Erasmus'  On  Variety  of  Exp?-ession 
will  help  him  to  vary  his  phrases.  Vives  then  introduces  a 
general  sketch  of  universal  history,  and  a  presentation  of 
geography   such   as   Pomponius  Mela  affords ^ 

The  student  then  comes  to  the  "purer"  writers  whom  he 
must  study  so  closely  that  he  will  be  able  to  follow  them  as 
standards  in  his  own  writing:  Caesar,  Cicero's  Letters  to  his 
Friends,  particularly  those  to  Atticus. 

'  For  the  details  of  this  plan,  see  p.  134  ct  seqq. 


Vives  on  Education  cxxxvii 

The  dramatists,  important  for  tlieir  conversational  Latin, 
will  include  Terence  and  chosen  parts  from  Plautus,  with 
Seneca's   Tragedies. 

From  the  poets  are  to  be  read  Virgil's  ^neid,  Georgics  and 
Bucolka,  Lucan,  Horace's  Odes,  Persius  and  some  of  Martial's 
Epigrams.  The  Metamorphoses  and  the  six  books  of  the 
Fasti  of  Ovid  should  be  read  for  a  knowledge  of  mythology. 
Of  Christian  poets,  Prudentius  and  Baptista  of  Mantua  are  to 
be  read.  And,  here  again,  amongst  the  poets,  a  modern  work 
is  admitted,  the  Rusticus  of  Politian. 

Of  historians,  Vives  names  parts  of  Livy  and  of  Valerius 
Maximus.     Lastly,  Cicero's  Orations. 

In  addition  to  the  above  books  which  the  teacher  will  read 
with  the  boys,  the  pupils  are  expected  to  read  the  following 
authors  privately:  Thomas  Linacre,  Antony  of  Lebrija, 
Mancinellus,  Laurentius  Valla,  a  critic  like  Servius  Honoratus. 
Cardinal  Hadrian  should  be  read  for  his  collection  of  examples; 
and  Guillaume  Bude  on  the  Pandects  and  on  Coinage. 

In  further  historical  studies,  the  rest  of  the  books  of  Livy 
should  be  read,  Tacitus  and  Sallust.  For  mythological  poetry, 
Vives  recommends  Boccaccio,  who  borrowed  considerably 
from  Ovid. 

For  purposes  of  extension  of  the  student's  vocabulary  (as  we 
have  seen,  in  the  absence  of  dictionaries,  of  great  importance), 
he  should  read :  Cato,  Varro,  Columella,  Palladius,  Vitruvius, 
and  Grapaldus.  The  student  should  read  all  the  orations  of 
Cicero  and  the  declamations  of  Quintilian. 

Finally,  as  standards  of  style,  to  be  kept  before  the  pupil, 
Vives  names  the  modern  writers:  Longolius,  Pontanus,  Politian 
and,  it  is  interesting  to  notice,  Erasmus. 

Vives'  method  makes  great  demands  on  the  reading  of 
teachers  and  scholars.  He  advocates,  therefore,  a  library  for  the 
Academy,  and  the  teacher  is  to  train  the  pupil  in  the  choice  of 
books \  He  was  probably  the  first  educationist  after  the  in- 
vention of  printing  to  advocate  the  formation  of  school  libraries. 
'  p.  124.     See  also  pp.  141,  149,  271. 


cxxxviii  Iiilrodiiclio}! 

The  Greek  Language.  Vives  says  the  value  of 
Language-study  is  for  application  to  life  and  he  would  by 
no  means  admit  all  pupils  to  Cireek  studies.  It  will  be  quite 
sufficient  for  many  to  learn  Latin  and  a  little  Greek,  just  so  far 
as  to  be  able  to  converse  on  (ireek  subjects.  An  ill-founded 
affectation  of  higher  studies  in  Greek  is  injurious  to  the  student 
and  to  the  learned  world.  Men  going  into  official  and  public 
life  should  have  a  working  knowledge  of  Latin  and  Greek 
sufficient  for  the  reading  of  authors.  Such  a  grounding  will 
assist  their  work  and  also  be  a  resource  to  them  in  old  age. 
Those  intended  to  become  scholars  will  proceed  to  the  higher 
authors  in  Greek'.  The  treatment  of  both  Latin  and  Greek 
authors  as  subjects  of  study  is,  like  that  of  Milton,  realistic. 
Latin  and  Greek  are  to  be  studied  because  the  best  knowledge 
on  every  important  subject,  in  the  time  of  Vives,  was  thought 
to  be,  and  largely  was,  only  to  be  found  in  authors  who  had 
written  in  those  languages. 

Modern  Languages.  Li  one  of  his  letters,  Erasmus 
bears  testimony  to  the  ability  of  Vives  in  speaking  French 
almost  as  well  as  his  native  Spanish,  and  to  his  understanding 
of  Flemish.  There  is  no  evidence  as  to  his  knowledge  of 
English,  but  his  description  of  the  lodgings  in  which  he  lived 
in  London  makes  it  sufficiently  probable  that  he  possessed  such 
a  minimum  as  was  necessary  for  dealing  with  his  landlady,  and 
for  the  ordinary  affairs  of  daily  life.  For  it  is  certain  that  the 
ordinary  Londoner  of  the  time,  whom  he  would  meet,  would 
speak  to  him  in  no  other  language  than  English.  At  Oxford 
Latin  was  the  College  language,  and  in  the  house  of  Sir  Thomas 
More  the  family,  and  most  of  the  friends  gathered  there,  could 
speak  Latin,  and  he  would  find  little  opportunity  for  practising 

'  The  whole  course  in  Greek  is  detailed  in  Book  ill.  eiiap.  7,  p.  14.^ 
et  seqq.  Chapter  8  contains  an  account  of  interpretative  or  critical  studies, 
styled  by  Vives,  "Classical  Philology,"  in  connexion  with  the  subject- 
matter  of  authors.  He  also  devotes  an  interesting  chapter  (chap.  9)  to 
estimates  of  some  of  his  predecessors  and  contemporaries. 


Vives  on  Edit  cat  ion  cxxxix 

his  English  there.  At  the  Court,  with  Queen  Catharine  and  her 
friends,  probably  Vives  would  speak  in  Spanish  chiefly.  More- 
over, during  the  six  years  of  his  visits  to  England,  Vives  was 
only  in  this  country  for  portions  of  the  year.  At  any  rate  it  is 
clear  that  Vives  had  an  interest,  from  his  personal  experiences, 
in  the  problems  of  the  learning  of  foreign  languages.  When  he 
discusses  the  teaching  of  rhetoric,  he  insists  that  in  speaking  or 
writing  on  public  and  civil  affairs,  in  their  own  or  other 
countries,  scholars  should  have  direct  knowledge  of  the  subjects 
on  which  they  write,  whereas  he  complains  that  often  contem- 
porary writers  have  not  seen  for  themselves,  "even  in  a  dream," 
what  they  venture  to  write  about.  "  T/iey  do  not  ktzow  the  very 
country,  or  even  the  city,  in  ivhich  they  are  living.  ^Vhilst  they 
are  always  meditating  on  ancient  Rome,  they  remain  in  this 
age  of  ours  no  more  than  pilgrims  to  it,  as  far  as  language  is 
concerned."  Men  cannot  be  called  eloquent  when  they  become 
mute,  directly  they  attempt  to  speak  in  another  language,  and 
when  they  cannot  apply  "three  words  from  the  learned  and 
polished  language  they  affect'." 

Vives  has  keen  enthusiasm  for  pure  Latin-speaking  and 
writing,  and  he  has  optimism  enough  to  believe  that  such  men 
as  Politian  and  Erasmus  had  won  the  position  of  freemen  of 
the  Roman  Republic,  although  living  so  long  after  the  Fall  of 
Rome,  but  he  was  also  practical  enough  to  realise  that  a  man 
"competently  wise"  in  a  modern  language  also  deserved  well, 
not  perhaps  of  the  Latinists,  but  certainly  of  humanity  at  large. 
For  practical  wisdom  in  the  affairs  of  life  seeks  the  instruments 
— linguistic  or  otherwise — best  fitted  for  individual  competency. 
Vives  knew  from  his  own  life  in  Spain,  France,  Flanders  and 
England  that  real  knowledge  in  civil  and  public  affairs  could 
alone  come  from  that  intimate  relation  which  can  only  exist  in 
speaking  the  language  of  the  country  in  which  one  lives.  He 
was  unable  to  write  his  book  on  Poor-relief  in  Flemish,  but  the 
Town  Council  of  Bruges  took  steps  to  prove  the  acceptability 

'   De  Caitsis  Corruptaruiii  Artinni,   Vivis  Opera  VI.  p.   179. 


cxl  Introduction 

of  his  gift  l)y  having  the  work  translated  into  that  language. 
They  paid  Vives  the  acceptable  comj^liment  of  believing  that 
he  had  written  "not  for  ostentation,  but  for  use."  It  was 
appropriate  that  the  popularly  conceived  works  of  Vives,  e.g. 
The  Institution  of  a  Chiistian  Woman,  the  Ifitroduction  to 
M'^isdom  and  T//e  Colloijuies  were  called  for  so  early  and  so 
often  in  various  vernaculars.  The  "extemporaneous"  charac- 
teristic of  The  Institution  of  a  Christian  Woman  which  troubled 
Erasmus,  meant,  looked  at  from  another  standpoint,  its  adapta- 
bility to  the  needs  of  the  people  as  distinct  from  those  of  the 
scholars  of  the  time,  in  a  degree  not  easily  to  be  attained  by 
elaborately  composed  treatises,  contrived  to  run  the  gauntlet  of 
Ciceronian  critics. 

As  for  methods  of  learning  foreign  languages,  Vives  had 
one  directive  principle.  "In  a  language  which  is  in  continual 
use  there  is  no  necessity  to  frame  systematic  rules.  The 
language  is  learned  better  and  more  quickly  from  the  people 
themselves^" 

Further,  it  may  be  said  that  Vives  saw  clearly  the  necessity 
of  the  individuality  of  nations,  of  which  a  separate  language  is 
one  of  the  outward  manifestations.  He  did  not  regard  it  as 
satisfactory  that  a  man  should  know  far  more  of  the  age  of 
Cicero  or  Pliny  than  of  his  grandfathers,  "  in  respect  of  food, 
attire,  worship  and  dwellings'-."  Thus,  he  explicitly  states  that 
national  customs  must  differ;  some  customs  would  be  suitable 
enough  to  Germans  which  would  be  unsuitable  for  Spaniards-'. 
These  customs  will  have  their  due  effect  upon  the  national 
education  in  each  country ^     It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  when 

'  p.  96  infra.  Vives,  probably,  would  have  warmly  approved  of 
Latin-speaking  colonies  and  "cities"  to  l)e  established  of  those  who 
could  speak  Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew,  as  a  plan  for  educational  teaching  of 
languages,  a  project  of  the  seventeenth  century.  See  English  Gra?>i>iiar 
Schools,  p.  313. 

-  p.  209.  "  p.  2^6. 

''  p.  252. 


Vives  on  Education  cxli 

he  argues  for  a  universal  language,  i.e.  Latin,  it  is  not  with  a 
view  of  superseding  national  training  but  with  the  aim  of  sup- 
plementing that  training  by  affording  a  medium  of  international 
culture.  One  great  unifying  element  for  the  people  at  large,  as 
well  as  for  scholars,  amid  the  diversities  of  the  nations,  was  for 
Vives,  undoubtedly,  "the  light  of  our  religion,"  and  the  Latin 
language  through  which  its  services  spoke,  supplied  a  con- 
firmatory reason  for  bilingualism — to  consist  of  the  vernacular 
and  the  international  language,  Latin'. 

The  Vernacular.  Three  great  events  happened  for 
Spain  in  1492,  the  year  of  Vives'  birth,  first  Granada  was 
wrested  from  the  Moors  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  secondly, 
the  discovery  of  America,  under  Spanish  auspices,  by  Columbus, 
and  thirdly,  the  publication  by  Antony  of  Lebrija  of  a  Spanish 
grammar  and  dictionary.  The  strain  of  patriotism  in  Spain 
grew  intense,  and  although  Spain  was  divided,  like  other 
countries,  into  districts  with  different  dialects  making  a  com- 
mon standard  difficult,  thus  early,  in  1492,  Antony  of  Lebrija 
(Antonius  Nebrissensis)  had  attempted  to  show  what  Castilian 
really  was.  He  was  the  first  humanist  scholar  to  produce  a 
grammar  of  a  romance  language.  It  was  part  of  a  national 
movement.  Don  Diego  Hurtado  de  Mendoza  (1503- 15 75)  is 
the  type  of  the  very  best  Spaniards  of  the  age.  First,  a  states- 
man and  erudite  classical  scholar,  with  a  library  renowned 
throughout  Europe,  he  retired  from  active  life  and  composed 
his  vernacular  classic  Guerra  de  Granada,  and,  of  course,  wrote 
his  romance  of  Lazarillo  de  Tormes  in  Spanish.  The  feeling 
spread  that  it  was,  as  one  critic  said,  better  to  be  useful  to  a  great 
number  in  the  vernacular  than  to  a  few  persons  in  Latin-. 

Though  Vives  had  left  Spain,  he  was  still  a  Spaniard.     His 
boyish  opposition   to  Antony   of  Lebrija   had  changed   into 

1  Cf.  the  Tews,  who  have  always  remained  bilingual  in  their  educational 
system. 

^  Quoted  by  Alassebieau,  Les  Colloqites  Scolaires,  p.  163. 


cxlii  Introduction 

admiration  both  for  the  latter's  classical  scholarship  and  for  his 
pride  of  nationality.  Vives  became  the  first  humanist-scholar 
who  advocated  the  serious  study  of  the  vernacular  by  the 
teacher.  His  insistence  on  the  mother's  part  in  the  educa- 
tion of  children  was  accompanied  by  the  conviction  that  the 
vernacular  should  be  carefully  taught  to  the  child  by  the  mother, 
who  should  thus  in  addition  become  nurse  and  teacher,  and 
concentrate  in  herself  all  the  maternal  claims  of  affection. 
Accordingly,  for  her  children's  sake,  if  not  for  her  own,  she 
must  be  a  book-reader,  that  she  may  teach  her  children  and 
"make  them  good^"  As  we  have  already  seen'-,  for  three 
hundred  years  the  Valencian  mothers  had  passed  on  the 
language  intact  to  Valencian  children.  Mothers  are  the 
guarantee  of  a  national  language,  and  it  is  therefore  incumbent 
on  them  to  impart  that  language,  purely,  and  to  see  that,  as 
far  as  they  can  control  the  surroundings,  no  "rude  and  blunt" 
speech  gets  a  hold  on  the  child.  When  children  go  to  school, 
they  are  to  speak  "in  their  own  tongue,  which  was  born  in  them 
in  their  home,  and  if  they  make  mistakes  in  it,  let  the  master 
correct  them."  But  the  school  problem  we  must  remember, 
in  Vives'  view,  was  a  bilingual  one.  The  children  therefore 
having  gained  at  home  and  at  school  the  basis  of  their  native 
tongue,  must  gradually  add  the  speaking  of  Latin.  There 
must  needs  be  the  pitfall  of  mixing  up  the  Latin  and  the 
vernacular.  Vives  makes  the  concession  that  boys  should  be 
allowed  to  speak  the  vernacular  out  of  school,  "so  that  they 
may  not  accustom  themselves  in  any  way  to  make  a  hotch- 
potch of  the  two  languages  •^"  As  the  pupil  advances  in  his 
study  of  Latin,  he  must  be  required  to  express  his  thoughts  in 

1    Vives  and  the  Renascence  Education  of  Women,  p.  123. 

'^  p.  xlvi  supra. 

•'p.  no  infra.  On  the  relation  between  classics  and  the  vernacular 
in  Jesuit  schools,  see  T.  Corcoran,  Studies  in  the  History  of  Classical 
Teaching,  pp.  212-13.  Professor  Corcoran  is  one  of  the  few  English  writers 
who  have  appreciatively  quoted  Vives  in  their  account  of  methods. 


yi'z'es  on  Education  cxliii 

Latin,  for  nothing  is  so  important  in  learning  a  language  as 
practice  in  speaking  it. 

It  is  necessary  to  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  in  the  early 
part  of  the  i6th  century  only  too  frequently  the  masters  knew 
less  of  the  vernacular  than  they  did  of  Latin.  That  this  was 
the  case  in  England  is  distinctly  stated  by  John  Palsgrave,  the 
tutor  of  the  Princess  Mary  Tudor,  sister  of  Henry  VIIL  This 
remarkable  man,  whom  Vives  not  improbably  met  at  the 
English  Court,  was  a  classical  scholar,  who  knew  French  so 
intimately  that  he  practically  furnished  the  French  people  with 
rules  for  their  own  language  ^  English  schoolmasters,  accord- 
ing to  Palsgrave'-^,  could  write  an  epistle  "right  Latin  like,"  speak 
Latin,  and  indite  Latin  verses;  "yet  for  all  this,  partly  because 
of  the  rude  language  used  in  their  native  countries  [i.e.  coun- 
ties]...and  partly  because,  coming  straight  from  thence  to  the 
universities,  they  have  not  had  occasion  to  be  conversant  in 
such  places,  where  the  purest  English  is  spoken,  they  be  not 
able  to  express  their  conceit  in  their  vulgar  tongue,  nor  be 
sufficient,  perfectly,  to  show  the  diversities  of  phrases  between 
our  tongue  and  the  Latin  (which  in  my  poor  judgment  is  the 
very  chief  thing  that  the  schoolmaster  should  travail  in)'*." 

This  description  of  the  English  schoolmasters  was  applic- 
able to  those  of  other  countries*,  and  the  only  possible  way  in 
such  circumstances  of  improving  the  vernacular  teaching  of  the 
boys  in  the  schools  was  to  insist  on  the  better  training  of  the 
teachers  themselves  in  their  knowledge  of  the  vernacular.  This 
is  precisely  what  Vives  urges  in  the  following  important  passage : 

1  See  Sir  Sidney  Lee,  French  Renaissance  in  England,  p.  80. 

2  In  his  translation  of  the  Comedye  of  Acolastzis,  1540. 

^  Such  a  passage  throws  light  on  what  has  presented  difficulty  to  some 
students  ot  educational  history — viz.  the  fact  that  the  Authorised  Latin 
Grammar  was  issued  in  Latin,  and  the  even  still  more  striking  fact  that 
some  English  Grammars  were  written  in  Latin,  e.g.  the  Logonomia  Anglica 
(Alexander  Gill,  c.  162 1). 

■*  See  p.  14  infra,  1.  [2  from  bottom  of  page,  sentence  beginning  "It  is 
a  great  advantage." 


cxiiv  Introduction 

"Let  the  teacher  know  the  mother  tongue  of  the  boys  exactly 
so  that  by  means  of  the  mother  tongue  he  may  make  his 
instruction  more  pleasant  and  easier  for  them.  Unless  he 
knows  how  to  express  aptly  and  exactly  in  the  vernacular  what 
he  wishes  to  speak  about,  he  will  easily  mislead  the  boys,  and 
these  mistakes  will  accompany  them  when  they  are  grown  up." 
But  even  this  demand  on  the  teacher  is  not  sufficient.  He 
must  also  understand  the  historical  growth  and  development 
of  the  vernacular;  the  words  which  have  come  into  the 
language,  those  which  have  gone  out  of  use,  and  those  which 
have  changed  in  meaning.  In  short,  he  should  be  "a  Prefect 
of  the  treasury  of  his  language,"  otherwise,  in  the  multitudinous 
changes  of  a  language,  books  written  a  century  before  in  it,  will 
become  unintelligible  to  posterity  \ 

Constant  to  his  purpose  of  making  all  knowledge  available 
and  effective  in  every  direction,  Vives  deserves  credit  for  his 
advocacy  of  the  use  of  the  vernacular  as  far  as  possible  for 
legal  purposes.  "All  laws  should  be  written  in  the  vernacular, 
and  in  intelligible  and  clear  language'"."  As  language  changes, 
and  old  forms  become  obscure,  the  state  should  re-frame  the 
old  phrases  to  the  usage  of  the  later  generation.  Every  indi- 
vidual should  be  made  acquainted  with  what  is  expected  from 
him  in  the  society  in  which  he  lives. 

Nothing,  perhaps,  shows  more  clearly  the  practical  aspect 
of  Vives'  attitude  towards  the  vernacular  than  his  advice  to 
the  maid  in  her  prayers,  to  either  make  use  of  the  language 
which  she  understands,  or  else  to  get  someone  to  interpret  the 
Latin  in  the  vernacular  for  her-'. 

^  p.  103  infra. 

-  p.  265.  In  England,  French  and  Latin  were  for  centuries  the  legal 
languages,  and  discussions  on  legal  cases,  "readings  in  the  Moots,"  were 
issued  in  French  at  any  rate  up  to  1680.  Sir  John  Fortescue,  writing  on 
the  Praise  of  the  English  Laws  (c.  1463),  composed  his  work  in  the  Latin 
language. 

^  Even  then  he  wishes  the  maid  to  be  quite  clear  that  speech  is  for  the 
expression  of  thought.     "Let  her  not  ween  that  prayer  standeth  in  the 


Vwes  on  Education  cxlv 

"-■vjlistory.  )In  dealing  with  the  reading  of  authors  Vives 
had  already"  rhade  provision  for  a  general  sketch  of  universal 
history^  from  Adam  to  the  Flood,  to  Abraham,  to  Moses. 
From  the  Trojan  War,  the  Founding  of  Rome,  on  to  the 
Downfall  from  the  Gauls.  From  Alexander  of  Macedon,  on  to 
the  Punic  Wars,  on  to  Sulla  and  Marius,  and  to  the  Birth  of 
Christ.  From  Christ  to  the  Goths  and  Huns,  to  Charles  the 
Great,  to  Gottfried  of  Bouillon,  to  the  Invasion  of  Europe  by 
the  Turks,  to  the  recent  retaking  of  Granada,  and  an  account 
of  Charles  V.  Along  with  the  history  a  general  sketch  of 
ancient  geography  is  required,  an  alliance  well  in  keeping  with 
modern  pedagogy.  Such  courses  were  to  be  studied  by  all 
boys,  as  necessary  parts  of  a  study  of  language  and  literature. 
After  the  higher  studies  of  logic,  nature-study,  rhetoric,  the 
mathematical  sciences,  the  professional  subjects  for  the  Church, 
medicine  and  law  have  been  discussed,  Vives  requires  the 
advanced  student  to  consider  the  conditions  for  acquiring 
practical  wisdom  in  life.  This  is  gained,  if  not  by  personal 
experience,  in  the  last  resort,  at  any  rate,  by  the  experience  of 
some  man  or  men,  now  living — or  who  lived  in  the  past.  In 
this  pursuit  of  wisdom  we  must  make  use  of  the  experience  of 
others  as  well  as  of  our  own.  We  must  follow  other  men's 
experiences  in  past  ages  as  well  as  in  the  present.  Hence  we 
need  to  study  history,  which  is  the  source  of  so  much  of  our 
knowledge,  and  prepares  us  in  so  many  ways  for  life". 

Vives  is  interested  in  the  psychological  aspect  of  historical 
study,  disclosing  the  essential  nature  of  human  beings,  and  in 
the  study  of  the  manifestations  of  the  affections  and  passions  of 
the  human  mind  in  history^.     Still  more  valuable  is  it  to  study 

murmuring  and  wagging  of  the  lips,  but  in  the  heart  and  mind."  Vives 
and  the  Renascence  Education  of  PVomen,  p.  89. 

^  p.  135  infra. 

^  Vives  deals  with  History-teaching,  p.  231  infra,  and  historical 
writers,  pp.  237-49. 

*  p.  232  infra. 

F.  W.  k 


cxlvi  Introduction 

the  achievements  and  development  of  the  rational  judgment. 
He  is  so  much  struck  with  the  unique  significance  of  history  as 
a  practical  training  that  he  asks:  "How  are  we  to  account  for 
the  fact  that  our  philosophers  have  not  been  suited  for  ruling 
cities  and  peoples,  except  on  the  ground  of  their  deficiency  in 
historical  knowledge,  which  is  the  nurse  of  practical  wisdom?" 
Vives  demands  attention  away  from  wars  and  slaughter  to  the 
triumphs  of  peace'.  He  has  already  shown  the  value  of  the 
historical  study  of  the  arts,  law,  medicine,  theology. 

The  most  noteworthy  passage  in  his  treatment  of  history, 
probably,  is  his  realisation  of  the  value  of  the  study  of  recent 
and  contemporary  history,  his  power  of  detachment  from  the 
ancient  writers,  his  willingness  to  consider  the  modern  historians 
on  their  merits-.  "I  have  not  mentioned,"  he  says,  "those 
writers  who  have  written  on  some  small  race  or  state,  such  as 
Flanders,  Liege,  Utrecht.  Nor  have  I  included  those  writers 
who  used  the  vernacular  language  such  as  the  Spanish  Valera, 
Froissart,  Monstrelet,  Philip  de  Comines,  of  ivhovi  there  are 
many  not  less  worthy  of  bemg  known  and  read  thafi  the  majority 
of  Greek  and  Latin  historians^." 

f Vives  also  wrote  critically  on  the  "corruptions"  of  history. 

He  was  impatient  with  what  he  called  "the  lies"  of  Greek 
history.     "It  would  be  truer  to  call   Herodotus  the  father  of 

I     lies  than  of  history."     He  desires  a  clean-cut  division  between 

i     history  and  myth,  and  is  keenly  alive  to  the  dangers  to  historical 
accuracy  from  poetical  licence.     He  wants  a  more  exact  chron- 

;     ology.     He  passionately  objects  to  praising  Caesar  for  robbing 

j     men  of  their  lives  by  war^ 

"       ^  p.  236  infra. 

■^  Mr  W.  H.  Woodward  says  :  "Vives  is  almost  alone  amongst  human- 
ists in  finding  a  place  for  Monstrelet,  de  Comines  and  Froissart  in  historical 
study"  {Eras7nus  concerning  Education,  pp.  64-5). 

^  Highly  as  Vives  praises  these  historians,  he  pointed  out  what  he 
considered  shortcomings  in  them,  in  the  de  Causis  Corruptartdm  Artium, 
Vivis  Opera  VI.  p.  108. 

*  De  Causis  Corruptaruvi  Artium,  VI.  ]>.  lo;.    "Shall  Julius  Caesar  he 


Vives  on  Education  cxlvii 

The  idea  of  war  amongst  Christians  aroused  Vives'  sternest 
indignation.  The  glory,  as  it  is  called,  of  war  impels  men 
to  the  slaughter  of  peoples  and  races — to  horrible  crimes. 
Accounts  of  wars  should  only  be  introduced  into  histories 
briefly,  barely,  and  without  approval,  but  rather  with  detesta- 
tion. We  should  not  ascribe  commendation  to  a  victor,  after 
a  long  war,  but  "such  a  warrior  should  become  an  example  to 
us  of  what  a  depraved  passion  of  ambition,  anger,  or  lust  can 
bring  to  birth,  and  should  reveal  to  us  on  what  a  slight  and 
uncertain  turning-point  the  affairs  and  fortunes  of  men  are 
based,  when  we  place  our  trust  so  completely  in  the  hands  of 
such  men^"  In  the  Causes  of  the  Corruptions  of  the  Arts  Vives 
observes  that  all  wars  are  civil  wars"-.  In  the  Commentaries  to 
St  Augustine's  City  of  God  he  declares:  "Men  have  expelled 
peace  wittingly  and  of  set  purpose  imagining  our  whole  felicity  to 
consist  in  the  tumults  of  wars  and  slaughters.  And  so  we  brave 
it  that  we  have  slain  thus  many  men,  burnt  thus  many  towns, 
sacked  thus  many  cities,  founding  our  principal  glories  upon  the 
destruction  of  our  fellows l"  Again,  in  the  same  work,  he  says: 
"Truly  fighting  belongs  neither  to  good  men  nor  to  thieves, 
nor  to  any  that  are  men  at  all,  but  is  a  right  bestial  fury  and 
therefore  it  was  named  Belhan  from  bellua  a  beast ^."  So  in 
the  Transmission  of  Knowledge,  in  the  chapter  on  the  teaching 
of  history,  Vives  discountenances  sympathy  with  wars  and  battles 
which  "equip  the  mind  with  examples  for  the  performance  of 
evil  and  show  the  ways  we  may  inflict  injuries  one  on  another^" 
Finally,  in  the  little  Introduction  to  Wisdom,  the  student's  guide 

praised  because  he  sent  so  many  thousands  of  men  to  violent  death,  when 
he  could  not  give  life  to  a  single  one  ?  " 

1  De  Ratione  Dicendi,  Opera  ii.  206.     Cf.  Kuypers :    Vives  in  seiner 
Piidagogik,  pp.  68-9. 

2  Opera  VI.  p.   106, 

3  Healey's  translation,  Bk  xni.  Chap.  19. 
■*  Ibid.  IV.  Chap.  4. 

^  p.  2^6  i?fra.     There  is  a  similar  condemnation  of  sympathy  with  war, 
p.  31  infra. 

k2 


cxlviii  Introduction 

to  study,  he  admonishes  the  young  pupil :  "  AVar,  that  is  to  say, 
robbery  without  punishment,  is  a  great  advancer  of  men  to 
honour,  such  is  the  madness  of  foolish  people'." 

In  accounts  of  the  lives  of  saints  he  demands  the  absolute 
exactness  of  truth  that  he  would  wish  had  been  observed  by 
the  Greek  historians,  and  metes  out  severe  blame  on  the  stories 
of  the  saints  as  told  in  the  Legenda  Aurea.  "  How  unworthy  of 
saints  and  Christian  men  is  that  history  of  saints  called  the 
Golden  Legends.  How  can  it  be  called  golden,  when  it  is  the 
composition  of  a  man  of  iron-countenance  and  leaden  heart? 
What  more  disgraceful  can  be  said  of  that  book?  How  shame- 
ful it  is  for  us  Christians  that  the  most  noble  acts  of  our  saints 
are  not  handed  down  to  memory  more  truly  and  accurately, 
whether  from  the  standpoint  of  accurate  knowledge  or  with  a 
view  to  imitation  of  so  great  virtue,  when  Roman  and  Greek 
authors  wrote  with  such  great  care  about  their  generals,  philo- 
sophers and  wise  men-."  Vives,  we  have  seen,  declared  his 
allegiance  to  the  Roman  Church.  But  he  also  manifests  his 
independence  of  mind,  and  makes  his  protest  against  what  he 
regards  as  abuses  and  corruptions  in  ecclesiastical  traditions. 

The  Academy.  The  idea  of  an  Academy  probably  was 
suggested  to  Vives'  mind  by  the  "School"  of  Sir  Thomas  More 
at  Chelsea.  At  any  rate,  this  thought  had  occurred  to  Erasmus 
in  his  well-known  description  of  it.  "You  would  say  that  in 
More's  house  Plato's  Academy  was  revived.  But  I  do  the 
house  injury  in  comparing  it  with  Plato's  Academy....!  should 
rather  call  it  a  school,  or  university,  of  Christian  religion''." 
Similarly,    Vives   called    his    work    on    The    Transmission   of 

1  Moryson's  translation,  Chap.  III.  57. 

-  Cf.  the  paragraph  on  the  subject  of  the  history  of  tlie  Ciiurch, 
pp.  248-9  injra. 

^  Erasmus,  Epistolae,  1642  ed.,  col.  1506.  Eiasiniis  continues:  "In 
it  [More's  Academy]  is  none,  man  or  woman,  but  readeth  or  studieth  the 
bberal  arts.  Vet  their  chief  care  is  that  of  piety.  I'here  is  never  any  one 
idle.  The  head  of  the  house  governs  it,  not  by  lofty  carriage  and  frequent 
rebukes  but  by  gentleness  and  amiable  manners.     Every  member  of  the 


Vives  oil  Education  cxlix 

Knoivledge  by  the  alternative  title  of  Christian  Education  (de 
Institutiom   Christiana). 

So  many  different  associations  are  clustered  round  the  term 
"Academy"  that  it  is  necessary  to  see  exactly  what  Vives  means 
by  it.  "A  true  Academy,"  he  says,  "is  an  association  and 
harmony  of  men,  equally  good  as  learned,  met  together  to 
confer  the  same  blessings  on  all  who  come  there  for  the  sake 
of  learning^"  No  doubt  Vives  kept  in  mind  his  experiences 
of  the  College  of  the  Three  Languages  at  Louvain,  and  Corpus 
Christi  College  at  Oxford  (that  institution  with  the  bee-Uke 
diligence  of  the  students),  as  well  as  the  more  domestic,  family 
type  of  training  of  More's  "Academy-." 

One  feature  of  Vives'  Academy  is  the  intellectual  advantage 
to  the  young  from  being  associated  with  the  old,  in  whose 
company  they  are  educated  more  "  liberally  and  purely-'."  The 
ordinary  branches  of  knowledge,  "the  arts,"  may  be  taught  by 
masters  of  different  ages,  but  the  training  for  "service  to  their 
country  and  for  civil  life"  should  be  in  the  hands  of  "wise,  old 
men,  as  formerly  at  Rome^"  Whilst,  thus,  youths  can  receive 
help  from  old  men  in  the  wise  practice  of  Ufe  for  wliich  Vives 
cares  so  deeply,  on  the  other  hand  the  Academy  will  serve  as 

household  is  busy  in  his  place,  performing  his  duty  w  ith  alacrity,  nor  is 
sober  mirth  wanting."'     Cf.  Vives'  account  of  Economics  (p.  257  infra). 

1  pp.  63-4  infra. 

'  Household  education  was  an  important  method  in  the  Middle  Ages. 
See  details  in  Manners  and  Meals  in  Olden  Times,  ed.  Furnivall,  p.  xvii 
et  seqq.  Sir  Thomas  More  e.g.  had  himself  been  trained  in  the  household 
of  Archbp.  Morton,  who  had  prophesied  a  distinguished  career  for  him. 
A  prototype  of  More's  Academy  is  to  be  seen,  on  the  pietistic  side,  in  the 
household  education  of  Elzear,  Count  of  Sabran  and  his  wife  Delphina 
(see  A.  T.  Drane,  Christian  Schools  and  Scholars,  pp.  536-7).  Vives  was 
familiar  with  a  similar  tradition  in  Spain.  Talavera,  Mendoza  and  Jimenez 
made  their  houses  centres  of  intellectual  progress. 

^  p.  70  infra. 

■*  p.  72  infra.  See  also  pp.  258-9.  Vives,  following  Cicero,  gives  the 
preference  to  old  men  in  their  social  circles  and  clubs,  for  their  practical 
wisdom,  as  compared  with  learned  men  "in  their  schools"  (p.  209). 


cl  Introduction 

a  "haven"  to  receive  those  advancing  in  years,  "driven  hither 
and  thither  in  a  great  tempest  of  ignorance  and  vice"  in  the 
outside  worlds  Nor  is  it  improbable  that  the  presence  of 
Sir  Thomas  More's  father,  Sir  John  More',  in  the  Chelsea 
home,  where  four  generations  lived  happily  together,  was  also 
in  the  background  of  Vives'  mind. 

Pupils  were  to  be  admitted  to  the  Academy  from  seven 
years  of  age,  and  the  complete  course  occupied  up  to  twenty- 
five  years  of  age.  The  institution  thus  was  a  primary  and 
secondary  school,  a  college  and  university  combined,  and  in- 
cluded aged  men  of  sound  experience  and  wisdom  as  a  body 
guard  of  the  best  general  mature  interests  of  life. 

Nothing  is  more  calculated  to  surprise  us  than  the 
negative  aspect  of  Vives'  Academy,  i.e.  the  entire  absence  of 
any  suggestion  of  ecclesiastical  control  or  oversight.  It  is 
probably  the  first  proposal  of  an  institution  to  undertake 
university  work  without  the  aegis  of  the  Church.  Vives  sug- 
gests that  teachers  should  receive  their  salaries  from  the  State, 
though  he  does  not  seem  to  have  realised  that  such  a  proposal 
involved  some  degree  of  state  control. 

John  Calvin's  Academy  at  Geneva  has  at  least  common 
points  with  Vives'  idea,  whether  suggested  by  it  or  not,  first  that 
it  included  a  school  for  children  as  well  as  a  College  for  advanced 
students.  Secondly  it  was  independent  of  any  authorisation, 
either  of  Regal  Charter  or  of  Papal  Bull.  If  it  seems  unwar- 
rantable to  connect  Calvin's  ideas  with  Vives  as  a  source,  it  is 
at  least  a  striking  coincidence  that  there  is  so  much  more  in 
common  between  the  two  men's  ideas  than  the  name, 
"Academy." 

1  p.  63.  Cf.  Izaak  Walton's  account  of  Sir  Henry  Wotton,  on  his 
appointment  to  the  Provostship  of  Eton  College.  "The  College  was  to  his 
mind,  as  a  quiet  harbour  to  a  sea-faring  man  after  a  tempestuous  voyage." 

2  Tudge  of  the  Court  of  King's  Bench.  After  Sir  Thomas  More 
became  Chancellor,  on  passing  this  Court,  on  his  way  to  the  Chancery, 
he  would  enter  the  Court  and  ask  his  father's  blessing  on  his  knees. 


Vives  on  Education  cli 

The  site  of  the  Academy  is  regarded  by  Vives  as  of  the 
first  importance'.  The  air  must  be  bracing,  though  the  country 
round  should  not  be  too  alluring  from  studies.  There  must  be 
a  good  food  supply,  and  the  buildings  must  be  well  apart  from 
all  disturbing  noise.  The  school  should  not  be  near  any  royal 
or  ducal  court^  nor  within  "the  neighbourhood  of  girls."  The 
buildings  should  be  outside  of  a  town,  not  too  near  a  public 
road.  Nor  should  a  site  be  chosen  near  the  boundaries  of  a 
province,  which  would  suffer  longest  and  most  by  the  outbreak 
of  war,  a  consideration  not  to  be  overlooked  in  Vives'  remem- 
brance of  the  wars  with  the  Moors  in  his  native  country. 

Mulcaster  showed  close  similarity  to  Vives  in  his  views  as 
to  the  site  of  a  schooP.  We  can  hardly  help  thinking  that 
Milton  had  Vives'  Academy  before  his  mind,  when  he  suggests 
the  "spacious  house  and  ground,"  to  be  "at  once  a  school 
and  university,  not  needing  a  remove,"  but  to  be  "absolute" 
for  all  studies^  Vives  prescribes  courses  for  the  physician  and 
the  lawyer  in  their  studies.  The  first  Academy  in  England  in 
some  respects  resembling  Vives'  views,  appears  to  be  that  of 
Thomas  Gataker'' at  Rotherhithe,  in  the  first  half  of  the  17th 
century. 

After  the  Act  of  Uniformity,  there  were  many  schools  or 
academies  founded  in  England  after  the  Gataker  type,  and  of 
these  some  few  developed  into  more  or  less  public  "Dissenting 

1  p.  53  ei  seqq. 

"  This  is  a  contrast  to  the  Italian  tradition  when  the  most  renowned  of 
the  Renascence  Schools  were  in  connection  with  Courts.  It  is  pointed  out 
by  Wychgram  that  G.  W.  Leibnitz,  the  German  scholar,  held  the  exact 
opposite  to  Vives,  viz.  that  an  Academy  should  be  placed  in  a  residential 
town  so  that  youths  could  gain  an  experience  in  ducal  courts,  which,  he 
thought,  would  be  of  service  to  them  in  their  training  for  after  life. 

•*  Positions  (Quick's  reprint),  p.  229. 

*  See  Nineteenth  Century,  Dec.  1909,  in  the  article  on  A  Suggested 
Source  of  Milton's  Tractate  of  Education.  Samuel  Johnson  speaks  of  "the 
wonder-working  Academy"  in  Aldersgate  Street  referring  to  Milton's  own 
private  school  there. 

•'  Erasmus  Middleton,  Biographia  Evangelica,  in.  p.  290. 


cHi  Introduction 

Academies,"  as  they  were  called  in  the  i8th  century.  They 
accepted,  in  the  early  days,  pupils  of  all  ages  and  stages,  and 
eventually  equipped  men  in  the  preparatory  culture  for  all 
professions,  by  no  means  restricting  themselves  to  denomina- 
tional limits.  It  is  claimed  that  their  aim  was  "to  make 
students  thinkers,  open  their  intelligence  and  give  an  impetus 
to  further  knowledge'."  The  success  of  the  intellectual  and 
moral  stimulus  afforded  by  the  Dissenters' Academies  did  much 
to  balance  the  effect  in  England  of  the  low  standard  and 
stagnation  of  the  English  Universities  in  the  i8th  century. 
There  is  no  doubt  these  Academies,  if  they  consciously  repre- 
sented to  themselves  any  model,  would  have  pointed  to  the 
Genevan  Academy.  But,  once  again,  it  is  to  be  noted  that 
Vives'  idea  of  an  Academy  was  en  evidence"-. 

Vives  is  many-sided,  and  the  chapters  on  schools"  present 
suggestions  which  will  appeal  with  different  emphasis  to  different 
readers.  Sound  education  is  for  the  culture  of  the  mind,  not 
the  instrument  for  acquiring  honours  or  money.  The  boy  has 
no  prescriptive  right  to  higher  education.     The  school  is  an 

^  Alexander  Gordon,  Eai-ly  Nonconformity  mid  Education,  1902. 

-  An  educationist,  John  Dury,  proposed  a  scheme  for  an  "Academy" 
which  is  interesting  for  comparison  with  that  of  Vives.  In  his  Reformed 
School  (1650)  Dury  suggests  that  an  "Association"  should  be  formed  of 
"free,"  grown-up  persons,  who  should  live  together,  to  worship  God  and 
for  profitable  employment  and  mutual  assistance.  They  are  to  engage  in 
occupations  suitable  for  each  sex,  and.  as  far  as  possible,  to  devote  part  of 
their  earnings  to  the  relief  of  the  poor.  There  are  to  be  two  separate 
schools,  one  for  boys  and  one  for  girls.  The  Associates  act  as  "  tutors"  to 
the  children,  for  whom  "ushers"  are  appointed  for  the  teaching.  The 
Governor  is  at  the  head  of  all  Associates,  ushers  and  children.  The  object 
f)f  the  Association  is  to  aid  the  sense  of  continuity  in  all  stages  of  life. 
The  scope  of  the  education  provided  is  "  to  know  God  in  Christ  and  to 
become  profitable  instruments  of  the  Commonwealth." 

3  Vives  uses  the  following  terms  for  educational  institutions:  paedago- 
gium,  schola,  Indus  literarius,  and  academia.  The  paedagogium  seems  to 
be  the  preparatory  school  where  ability  is  first  tested.  Ludns  literarius  is 
a  grammai  school,  and  the  Academy  an  institution  in  which  every  aspect 
of  educational  work  is  included  and  brought  into  perspective. 


Vwes  on  Education  cliii 

atmosphere  of  development,  in  which  only  those  boys  should 
enter,  or  be  allowed  to  remain,  who  are  suited  to  it,  and  whom 
it  suits.  Whilst  opportunities  should  be  open  to  all,  Vives 
recognises  that  often  the  poor  boy  has  more  ability  and  appli- 
cation than  the  rich  boy.  Only  those,  rich  or  poor,  who  will 
benefit  thoroughly  from  its  help  should  be  allowed  to  remain 
in  the  school.  "In  trade,  and  in  the  manual  and  mechanical 
arts,  we  see  fewer  persons  spending  their  labour  in  vain  than  in 
the  pursuit  of  learning."  Once  admitted,  patience  as  to  results 
must  be  shown,  and  a  difference  of  abiUty,  temperament  and 
disposition  of  pupils  involves  a  different  speed  of  acquisition  of 
knowledge  and  re-active  disciplinary  processes  of  mind.  With 
true  insight,  Vives  remarks:  "  It  is  not  expedient  to  expect  one 
time  for  all.  Nothing  could  be  more  unequal  than  an  equality  of 
that  kind.''  Given  that  the  pupil  has  sufficient  tested  mental 
ability,  the  one  thing  needful  on  his  part  is  the  right  attitude 
towards  his  work.  Let  the  scholars  enter  the  schools  as  if 
about  to  worship  in  temples.  Similarly,  the  teacher's  work  is 
intensive  rather  than  extensive.  "Who  can  bewail  the  fewness 
of  his  scholars,  when  the  Creator  of  the  world  was  satisfied 
with  a  school  of  twelve  men?"  Hence  Vives  would  have  the 
payment  of  the  teachers  in  no  way  dependent  on  capitation  fees. 
The  teacher's  salary  should  be  just  as  much  as  a  good  man 
would  desire,  but  a  sum  such  as  a  bad  man  would  despise.  In 
other  words,  the  reward  of  a  teacher  is  intrinsic,  not  extrinsic. 
It  is  for  the  public,  who  profit  so  unspeakably  from  his  services, 
to  make  secure  the  teacher's  welfare  and  comfort.  It  is  the 
teacher's  part  to  do  his  work  with  his  thoughts  concentrated  on 
the  good  of  pupils  and  others  through  them — like  Christ,  who 
taught  "  for  our  service,  not  for  His  own  ostentation." 

The  Final  Aim.  Vives  had  come  to  regard  education 
as  conterminous  with  life.  "There  is  no  end  which  can  be 
fixed  to  the  pursuit  of  wisdom,"  he  says,  "in  the  whole  of  our 
life."     As  loni;  as  life  lasts,  these  three  objects  must  occupy  us: 


c  1  i  V  Introduction 

v-    '|_to  obtain  sound  wisdom,  to  give  right  expression  to  it,  and  to^ 
ptit___itj.^f'^  sound  (ii/i(iit\''     To  be  approved  of  God  is  the  great 

I  aim  of  both  the  luxsent  and  the  future  life.  Nothing  can  be 
more  acceptable  to  Him  than  the  devotion  of  our  mental  gifts, 

I  our  erudition  and  knowledge,  to  the  use  of  our  fellow  men,  who 

V'       are  His  children.     Studies  must  not  be  our  sole  occupation 

and  delight.     "The  fruit  of  all  studies  is  to  bring  our  know- 

u ledge  to  the  common  good"."  Every  study  is  of  unlimited 
extent,  and  might  lead  us  to  complete  absorption  in  it,  but 
there  is  always  some  stage  at  which  we  are  able  to  make  it 
available  for  "the  use  and  advantage  of  other  people." 

Comenius,  in  speaking  of  Nature^  wishes  to  get  beyond  the 
conception  of  that  corruption  which  has  befallen  all  men  since 

~^the  Fall  of  Man,  and  quotes  Vives:  "What  else  is  a  Christian 
but  a  man  restored  to  his  own  nature,  and,  as  it  were,  brought 

\_back  to  the  starting  point,  whence  the  Devil  has  thrown  him'*." 
Bacon,  we  have  seen,  looked  on  the  knowledge  which  was  to 
come  as  the  "relief  to  man's  estate."  Milton  declared  the  end 
of  learning  is  "to  repair  the  ruins  of  our  first  parents  by  regaining 
to  know  God  aright,  and  out  of  that  knowledge  to  love  Him, 
to  imitate  Him,  and  to  be  like  Him."  With  Milton,  Vives  held 
that  the  love  of  God  came  through  knowledge  of  Him,  but  even 
the  power  of  this  perfect  knowledge  of  the  divine  life  lies  in  the 
resultant  actions  of  piety,  i.e.  in  its  practice  rather  than  in  mere 
knowledge.  Milton  speaks  of  man  becoming  like  God;  Vives 
says  man  is  to  be  changed  into  His  Nature.  In  the  de  Anima 
he  says,  "Man  ascends  above  the  heavens  to  God  Himself," 
and  this  proves  his  divine  origin.     Love  was  the  cause  of  our 

'  /ittrodititio  ad  Sapitiitiaiii,   Fhji's  Opera  1.  p.   i6. 

-  p.  283.  It  will  be  noticed  that  in  such  a  subject  as  Astronomy  which 
might  readily  lead  the  thoughts  to  reverie,  Vives  insists  on  the  practical 
aim  in  the  study  of  the  subject,  p.  205  infra. 

•'  6"r^rt/ Z'/a'ac/zV^Keatinge's  trans,  p.  192.  See  August  Nebe,  Vives, 
Alsted,  Co/iieiiius,  in  ihrem  Verhdltnis  zu  einander,  Elberfeld,  1891. 

*  De  Concordia  et  Discordia,  Bk  I. 


Vive's  on  Education  civ 

creation.  We  have  been  separated  by  the  love  of  ourselves. 
But  we  have  been  recalled  by  the  love  of  Christ,  and  are  now 
able  to  return  "to  our  source,  which  is  also  our  end." 

The  supreme  end  of  life  therefore  is  God,  and  education  is 
the  right  practice  of  the  art  of  living.  The  way  of  life  and  the 
way  of  education  is  to  seek  God's  approval,  and  as  He  is  the 
Father  of  all,  we  must  treat  all  human  beings,  and  especially 
our  pupils,  as  His  children.  It  is  inconceivable,  from  such  a 
point  of  view,  that  religion  should  be  disjoined  from  education  \ 
The  foundations  of  piety,  in  so  far  as  they  are  built  up  on 
knowledge,  must  be  taught  in  the  home,  and  still  further 
developed  in  the  school.  The  Scriptures  are  to  be  impressed 
"with  great  majesty"  on  pupils,  so  that  in  reading  them  they 
feel  that  they  are  listening  to  the  great  God  Himself  In 
addition  a  short  but  careful  text-book  of  directive  precepts 
concerning  the  elementary  principles  of  practical  piety  and 
wisdom  should  be  used,  and  for  this  purpose  Vives  compiled 
his  Litroduction  to  Wisdofn. 

Two  points  connected  with  this  religious  aim  had  special  / 
influence  on  his  educational  views.  Firstly,  the  hatred  of  war, 
as^incompatible  with  the  doctrine  of  love  in  which  he  whole- 
heaxtedly  believed.  We  have  seen  that  this  attitude  influenced 
his  teaching  of  history  and  reading  of  authors.  He  also  insisted 
that  physical  exercises  and  recreation  should  be  kept  free  from 
any  ulterior  purpose  of  military  training.  Secondly  he  desired 
that  in  the  reading  of  classical  poets  by  boys,  selections 
should  be  used  to  include  only  subject-matter  thoroughly  con- 
sistent with  Christianity  and  above  all  with  the  development  of  a 
moral  and  pure  tone  of  mind'-.     The  desire  of  truth  in  historical 

1  See  p.  34  and  p.  S4  infra. 

2  pp.  4g--;o  infra.  After  Vives  many  followed  in  the  protest  against 
harmful  heathen  authors.  About  1560,  Thomas  Becon,  in  a  New  Catechism, 
protests  against  the  use  in  schools  of  wanton  and  unhonest  authors  like 
Martial,  Catullus,  Tibullus,  Propertius,  etc.,  and  the  "wicked  and  un- 
godly" Lucian.     Lawrence  Humfrey,  in  the  Nobles,   1563,  complains  of 


clvi  lutroductioji 

writings  had  led  Vives  to  condemn  the  Golden  Legends.  Similarly 
he  discountenanced  the  reading  of  the  mediaeval  romances 
of  the  Knights  of  the  Round  Table,  Florisand,  Amadis  and 
Roland'. 

Accepting  the  final  aim  of  Vives  as  the  return  of  man 
through  knowledge  to  his  source,  viz.  the  love  of  God,  and  his 
special  means  of  advancing  educationally  towards  that  end,  the 
learning  of  all  knowledge  which  is  pure  and  true,  and  the  appli- 
cation of  all  a  man's  gifts  and  erudition  to  the  honour  of  God 
and  to  the  service  of  his  fellow-men,  we  must  modify  the  descrip- 
tion of  his  position  as  that  of  a  utilitarian,  in  the  ordinary  sense 
of  the  term.  No  man  was  less  self-centred,  less  selfish.  Useful- 
ness in  his  terminology  meant  purposefulness,  not  only  for 
this  life,  but  also  for  the  next.  Education  implicitly  in  Vives 
concerns  itself  with  the  whole  outlook  of  the  soul  on  its  way 
back  to  God,  in  this  world  and  the  next,  as  a  continuous 
process,  and  involves  as  its  intimate  impulse  the  discipline  of 
the  will.  His  work  may  thus  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  most 
thoroughgoing  expositions  of  the  later  pedagogical  doctrine  of 
the  training  of  the  good-will'^,  constantly  employed  on  the 
lines  of  self-activity,  morally,  intellectually,  physically;  the  soul 
bent  upon  the  good  of  others. 

ihc  "foul  error"  of  reading  Ovid  and  Boccaccio,  and  would  nol  have  the 
pupils  made  acquainted  witli  poets  "  nipping  in  taunts  and  wanton  in  talks." 
In  the  Commonwealth  period,  William  Dell,  Master  of  Gonville  and  Caius 
College,  Cambridge,  asks:  "What  should  Christian  youth  have  to  do  with 
the  heathenish  poets,  who  were,  for  the  most  part,  the  devil's  puppets  and 
delivered  forth  their  writings  in  his  spirit."  Finally,  Comenius  dispensed 
with  the  reading  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  poets  and  substituted  authors  who 
gave  "real"  knowledge  and  helped  to  supply  vocabularies  of  useful  words 
describing  "things." 

^  De  Caiists  Corruptariivi  Artinin,   Vivis  Opera  Vl.  p.  109. 

2  Since  writing  the  above  opinion  I  find  that  this  aspect  has  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  Germans.  Dr  George  Siske  has  written  a  monograph 
on  the  subject  :  IVillots-  unci  Charakterbildung  bei  Johaitn  Liidwig  Vh'es. 
Langensalza,  191 1. 


Vtves  on  Edticafion  cUii 

The  charm  which  the  work  of  Vives  possesses  for  the 
student  of  Renascence  life  is  the  unrestrained  expression  of 
his  thoughts,  without  arriere  pens'ee  as  to  whether  Cicero  in 
antiquity,  or  Erasmus  as  a  contemporary,  will  agree  with  him 
or  not.  He  has  won  his  own  judgments — he  would  rather  we 
did  not  call  them  merely  opinions — in  a  struggle  against 
authorities  all  along  his  path.  He  has  won  the  peace  of  piety 
at  the  same  time.  There  is,  therefore,  a  sense  of  consistency 
in  his  life  and  his  writings.  Hespeaks  directly  what  he  thinks, 
without  regard  for  consequences  and  without  regard  to  effect. 
He  is  absolutely  simple  and  absolutely  sincere.  He  is  under 
none  of  the  illusions  of  ambition  or  avarice.  He  is  a  follower 
of  the  truth,  and  of  piety,  assured  that  these  are  the  most 
certain  of  all  knowledge,  and  that  the  arts  only  gather  their 
value,  as  seen  in  their  light,  and  judged  by  their  standards. 
He  is  well  aware  that  he  has  set  out  on  an  adventurous  journey 
in  his  work  on  education,  and,  in  his  Preface,  he  asks  pardon 
for  the  errors  to  be  found  in  an  undertaking  "so  new"  in  its 
scope.  But  whatever  its  errors  his  attitude  is  that  of  all  noble 
research.  "I  would  not  desire  that  anyone  should  yield  his 
opinion  to  mine.  I  do  not  wish  to  be  the  founder  of_ajie,\y„ 
sectj^  or  to  persuade  anyone  to  swear  by  my  conclusions.  If 
you  think,  friends,  that  I  seem  to  offer  right  judgments,  see  well 
to  it  that  you  give  your  adherence  to  them,  because  they  are 
true,  not  because  they  are  mine. ...You,  who  seek  truth,  make 
your  stand,  wherever  you  think  that  she  is\" 


p.  9  infra. 

F,  \\. 


March   1913. 


JOANNIS    LODOVICI    VIVIS   VALENTINI 

DE  TRADENDIS  DISCIPLINIS 

LIBRI    OUINOUE 

FIRST  PUBLISHED,  IN  LATIN,  BY  MICHAEL 

HILLENIUS,   AT   ANTWERP,    IN    1531. 

NOW  TRANSLATED  INTO  ENGLISH 

FOR   THE   FIRST   TIME,   AS 

The   Transmission  of  Knowledge 


(DEDICATORY   ADDRESS) 

JUAN    LUIS   VIVES 

TO     KING     JOHN     III     THE     RENOWNED     KING 

OF    PORTUGAL   AND    ALGARVE,    LORD 

OF   GUINEA,  ETC. 

The  splendiil  deeds  of  thy  ancestors  have  brought  glory  to 
their  descendants,  and  at  the  same  time  the  pressing  necessity 
not  to  fall  below  the  standard  which  they  have  set.  For  what 
else  are  those  great  deeds  than  the  sure  marks  of  noble  descent 
so  that  all  people  may  know  what  is  to  be  expected  from  such 
a  family,  and  may  demand  greatness  from  each  representative, 
as  if  by  right.  As  we  often  see  shepherds  and  husbandmen  fix 
a  mark  on  mute  animals,  plants,  and  on  trees  that  are  specially 
beautiful,  and  regard  their  offspring  and  offshoots  as  having 
a  sure  promise  of  distinction  and  excellence  beyond  the  rest, 
so  when  I  consider  the  achievements  of  thy  ancestors  which 
are  all  gathered  together  and  super-imposed  on  thee  alone,  it 
is  clear  to  me  that  thou  wilt  have  to  exercise  great  and  keen 
judgment,  diligent  watchfulness  and  care,  so  as  not  only  to 
maintain  thy  heritage,  but  also  (as  is  frequently  expected  from 
the  indications  already  shown)  to  transmit  thy  predecessors' 
achievements  on  a  larger  and  yet  more  splendid  scale,  to  thy 
Deeds  of  the  posterity.  Thy  progenitors  dared  to  set  out  from 
Portuguese.  Portugal  to  explore  new  seas,  new  lands,  new 
and  unknown  climes.  First  they  overthrew  the  Arabs  and 
took  possession  of  the  Atlantic  Sea.  They  were  carried  away 
beyond  the  path  of  the  Sun  (i.e.  the  Equator)  and  having 
traversed  the  Southern  Sea  south  of  Ethiopia,  they  penetrated 
to  the  territory  opposite  to  us;  hence  to  the  Red  Sea,  and  even 
up  to  the  entrance  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  where  they  erected 
fortifications.     Then  they  travelled  north  of  the  mouth  of  the 


Dedicatory  Address  3 

Indus,  and  established  their  authority  over  the  fierce  and  blessed 
shores  of  all  India.  They  have  shown  us  the  paths  of  the  heaven 
and  the  sea,  before  not  even  known  by  name.  They  have 
also  discovered  peoples  and  nations  who  perform  marvellous 
religious  rites  and  are  in  a  state  of  barbarism,  though  possess- 
ing wealth,  on  which  our  people  so  keenly  cast  their  affections. 
The  whole  globe  is  opened  up  to  the  human  race,  so  that  no 
one  is  so  ignorant  of  events  as  to  think  that  the  wanderings  of 
the  ancients  (whose  fame  reached  to  heaven)  are  to  be  com- 
pared with  the  journeys  of  these  travellers,  either  in  the 
magnitude  of  their  journeyings,  or  in  the  ditificulties  of  their 
routes,  or  in  their  accounts  of  unheard-of  conditions  of  life  of 
the  various  nations  who  give  us  a  rude  shock  by  their  differences 
from  us  in  appearance,  habit  and  custom. 

But  far  beyond  these  matters  in  importance  is  the  fact  that 
our  religion  has  been  propagated  far  and  wide,  with  such  glory 
to  the  Christian  name,  and  so  much  service  to  those  whom 
thou  hast  brought  into  subjection,  that  the  conquered  are  in  a 
better  condition,  because  conquered  by  thee,  than  thou  art, 
because  thou  hast  conquered  them.  For  what  hast  thou 
obtained  through  thy  victories?  Nothing,  except  thought,  toil 
and  anxiety  of  affairs,  in  both  undertaking  the  enterprises,  and 
in  maintaining  the  power  thus  acquired.  A  great  example  has 
been  set  for  the  emulation  of  Christian  Princes,  that  they  should 
only  take  up  arms  and  seek  victories  of  this  kind,  so  that  they 
may,  by  this  means,  make  conquests  for  themselves  and  for  God, 
and  at  the  same  time  give  cause  to  the  conquered  to  rejoice  in 
their  defeats,  since  they  have  resulted  in  so  ample  a  reward  to 
themselves.  Yet  in  the  wars  in  Asia  and  Africa,  it  was  not 
a  question  of  fighting  for  a  small  territory  of  land  or  for  a 
small  state  with  vast  provision  and  supply  of  forces ;  but 
for  the  vastest  provinces  and  kingdoms,  so  that  the  greatest 
part  of  the  whole  earth  was  at  stake,  in  the  fortune  of 
war.  Thy  forefathers  are  to  be  congratulated,  that  although 
they  accomplished  so  much  from  such  small  beginnings,  their 
efforts  have  been  followed  by  so  rich  an  issue  in  respect  of 
F.  w.  / 


4  Dedicatory  Address 

their  many  toils  and  their  indefatigable  activity.  And  as  for 
thyself,  entering  the  first  steps  of  thy  life-course,  thou  must  not 
so  much  be  congratulated  as  exhorted  that,  for  the  future,  thou 
run  with  alacrity  thy  course,  and  press  forward  in  their  steps, 
towards  the  noblest  deeds,  of  which  within  thy  palace  walls 
thou  hast  such  examples.  Thou  must  maintain  what  thou  hast 
received  from  them,  and  by  the  same  means,  those  of  careful- 
ness, industry,  gentleness,  magnanimity,  greatness  of  deeds, 
constancy,  fidelity.  If  thou  dost  this,  then  in  the  same  way 
that  we  spur  thee  on,  to  rise  to  the  virtue  of  thy  ancestors,  thy 
descendants  will  be  able  to  cite  and  plead  thy  example  for 
imitation.  We  can  fairly  expect  that  this  will  be  the  case  from 
some  of  the  deeds  thou  hast  already  accomplished,  as  if  thou 
hadst  been  put  on  trial;  deeds  in  spheres  worthy  of  a  prince,  of 
sacred  and  uncorrupted  justice,  and  where  necessary,  deeds  of 
sternness  and  inflexibility.  Through  these  means  thou  hast 
brought  it  about,  as  in  many  places  is  the  custom,  that  not  only 
laws  and  right,  are  of  service  to  men,  but  that  also  men  obey  the 
laws,  and  act  justly,  and  do  this  recognising  that  thus  they  will 
obtain  the  greatest  freedom.  This  is  a  foretaste  of  thy  mind,  to 
show  thou  dost  not  merely  please  thyself;  and  at  the  same  time, 
as  it  were,  it  is  a  pledge  to  all  thy  people,  from  which  they  look 
for  great  and  noble  works,  as  if  due  from  thee,  and  they  will  be 
troublesome  reminders  in  the  future,  unless  thou  perform  what 
thou  hast  led  them  to  expect. 

Also  thy  good-will  towards  the  learned  and  towards  learning 
is  evidence  of  thy  disposition  towards  wisdom  and  the  culture 
of  the  mind.  Nor  is  thy  benevolence  bare  and  sterile,  as  is  the 
case  with  many  princes,  who  think  they  have  done  enough  and 
to  spare  by  learning,  if  they  praise  it,  or  avow  that  they  wish 
it  well.  Thou  addest  also  friendliness  to  scholars  and  magni- 
ficence of  help  to  learning  proportioned  to  thy  royal  wealth.  The 
proofs  are  thy  gifts  to  Paris  and  other  Universities,  in  which  so 
many  troops  of  thy  scholars  are  maintained  at  thy  cost.  Natur- 
ally, thou  favourest  those  who  are  like  thee,  those  who  will  be 
of  great  use  to  thee.     With  fullest  justification  the  boast  was 


Dedicatory  Address  5 

made  throughout  Spain  that  there  was  no  father  of  families 
more  wise  than  thy  father  Emmanuel,  who  would  have  no  one 
in  his  family  without  fixed  employment,  and  would  not  allow 
his  sons  to  be  idle ;  he  made  all  of  them,  as  becomes  princes, 
learn  the  military  art,  and  he  made  them  study  literature.  You 
also  understand  how  great  is  the  similarity  of  gifts  in  princes 
and  learned  men,  so  that  these  are  not  two  different  kinds  of 
men,  but  they  are  rather  such  as  should  be  more  friendly  to 
each  other  and  more  closely  joined  than  they  are.  The  one  is 
made  strong  by  the  other ;  they  are  as  it  were  mutual  helps. 
Both  are  given  by  God  to  states  and  peoples,  that  they  may 
have  wise  regard  for  the  common  good  of  the  state  ;  the  learned 
by  their  precepts ;  princes  by  their  edicts  and  laws ;  both  by 
their  examples.  Learning  requires  freedom  and  leisure.  This 
can  be  given  by  the  royal  power.  In  return,  princely  power 
will  receive  counsel  in  dealing  with  the  difficult  matters  of 
business.  Such  advice  is  afforded  to  princes  by  the  learned, 
in  the  practical  wisdom  gathered  from  learning,  so  that  it  is  clear 
if  either  is  lacking  to  the  other,  that  his  particular  gift  cannot  be 
obtained  and  preserved.  The  association  of  thyself  with  the 
duties  of  those  whom  thou  cherishest  will  be  of  such  a  kind  as 
to  help  and  support  thy  skill  and  thy  power.  This  will  be  the 
amplest  reward  of  thy  liberality.  For  to  what  others  couldst  thou 
listen  with  more  right,  or  whose  counsels  of  a  more  careful  and 
faithful  kind  couldst  thou  use  than  those  of  men  who  have  ac- 
quired wisdom  through  thy  kindness  so  that  they  might  worthily 
be  with  thee  when  thou  art  deliberating  about  the  most  important 
matters  ?  This  thy  so  great  and  singular  good-will  to  literature 
and  the  learned  has  led  me,  without  hesitation,  to  dedicate  to 
thee  my  books  de  DiscipHnis  which  I  have  recently  written.  They 
treat  of  subjects  which  interest  thee  greatly,  and  if  my  work 
should  not  please  thee,  in  the  treatment  of  its  topics,  yet  at  least 
the  subject  with  which  it  deals  will  give  thee  pleasure.    Farewell. 

Bruges,  July,  1531. 


PREFACE 

OF   J.    L.   VIVES   OF   VALENCIA   TO   THE 
DE  DISCIPLINISK 

When  I  reflected  that  there  is  nothing  in  Ufe  more  beautiful 
or  more  excellent  than  the  cultivation  of  the  mind  through  what 
we  call  branches  of  learning  [ifiscip/i/iae),  by  means  of  which  we 
separate  ourselves  from  the  way  of  life  and  customs  of  animals 
and  are  restored  to  humanity,  and  raised  towards  God  Himself, 
I  determined  to  write  on  the  subject,  as  far  as  my  powers  let 
me,  and  to  do  so,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  in  a  manner  different 
from  what  most  of  our  predecessors  have  done.  In  the  first 
place  I  have  attempted  to  write  spontaneously  and  clearly,  so 
that  my  words  may  be  easily  understood,  and  the  meaning 
retained,  and  as  suitably  as  possible  to  the  nature  of  the  topics, 
so  that  knowledge  may  be  gained  with  a  certain  delight,  and 
thus  tliat  the  fruitfulness  for  the  learner  may  be  increased.  For 
I  have  attempted  to  so  adapt  the  work  that  noble  minds  may 
be  attracted  to  studies  of  this  kind.  Moreover,  I  have  tried  to 
clothe  my  matter  in  a  certain  grace  of  style,  partly  because  it  is 
not  fitting  that  such  noble  subjects  should  be  presented  in  a 
mean  and  base  manner ;  partly  that  the  students  of  elegant 
literature  should  not  remain  always  hanging  over  the  expressions 
of  words  and  speech,  as  has  been  constantly  necessary  in  - 
previous  writers  on   these  subjects,  through   the  fruitless  and 

1  The  (k  Disciplinis  is  the  title  of  the  two  works  tai<en  together,  viz.  tlie 
seven  books  of  the  de  Causis  Corruptarum  Artiiitii,  i.e.  the  Causes  of  tlie 
Corruptions  of  the  Liberal  Arts,  and  the  five  books  of  the  de  Tradoidis 
Disciplinis,  i.e.  tlie  Transmission  or  Teaching  of  tlie  Subject-matter  of 
Knowledge.     The  first  edition  included  other  works.      See  p.  xii  sttpra 


Preface  of  J.  L.    Vtves  of  Valencia  7 

horrible  difficulties  of  language  and  matter  which  had  to  be 
gulped  down,  however  long  a  student  read.  Thus  will  be  per- 
ceived the  usefulness  of  the  learned  languages,  which  we  learn 
with  so  much  toil,  since  on  the  one  hand  they  contain  the 
subject-matter  of  the  sciences,  and  on  the  other,  are  fitted  for 
providing  full  expression  for  them. 

I  have  also  sought  to  free  the  sciences  from  impious  doubts, 
and  to  bring  them  out  from  their  heathen  darkness  into  the 
light  of  our  faith.  I  shall  show  that  the  old  writers  were  mis- 
taken, not  through  the  limitations  of  the  human  intellect,  as 
some  have  thought,  but  l)y  their  own  fault.  Therefore  I  have 
produced  my  reasons  from  Nature,  not  out  of  divine  oracles,  so 
that  I  should  not  leap  across  from  philosophy  to  theology. 

If  I  have  accomplished  this  purpose  in  some  measure, 
I  shall  have  obtained  the  richest  of  fruits  for  my  labour.  For 
what  employment  of  thought  could  be  more  useful  than  that 
of  bringmg  men  out  of  darkness  into  light,  to  that  light  which, 
when  it  is  seen,  makes  all  people  happy ;  but  without  which, 
we  should  ever  be  most  wretched  men  ?  And  if  any  are  con- 
scious of  their  dimness  of  insight,  then  I  trust  I  may  lead  them 
to  see  the  light  more  clearly  and  openly,  and  in  the  way  in 
which  they  themselves  may  realise  that  they  have  come  to  a 
clearer  vision.  We  shall  not  let  the  earliest  studies  be  infected 
with  heathen  errors,  and  thus  contaminate  our  religion,  but, 
from  the  beginning,  we  shall  accustom  ourselves  to  right  and 
sound  views,  which  will  then  by  degrees  grow  up  with  us.  But 
because  the  authority  of  the  ancients  in  the  transmission  of  arts 
has  been  firmly  established,  I  have  had  to  state  clearly  in  what 
matters  I  am  of  opinion  that  they  have  fallen  into  error,  so  that 
I  in  my  course  as  teacher  as  well  as  those  students  who  have 
willingly  committed  themselves  trustfully  to  me  as  their  leader, 
should  not  find  hindrances  at  the  threshold  of  learning.  By 
this  means  I  thought  I  could  with  more  convenience  and 
correctness  discuss  the  arts  themselves.  In  the  treatment  of 
these  questions  I  have  had  often  to  oppose  many  of  the  old 


8  Preface  of  J.   L.    Vives  of  Valencia 

authors  ;  of  course,  not  all,  for  that  would  have  been  an  endless 
as  well  as  a  useless  task,  still  I  have  had  to  controvert  some 
which  have  been  received  and  have  been  generally  approved  for 
a  long  time.  I  must  confess  1  have  ofien  been  ashamed  at  what 
I  have  ventured  to  undertake,  and  I  condemn  my  own  self- 
confidence,  in  thinking  that  I  should  dare  to  attack  authors 
consecrated  by  their  standing  through  the  centuries.  Especially 
is  this  so,  in  connection  with  Aristotle  for  whose  mind,  for 
whose  industry,  carefulness,  judgment  in  human  arts,  I  have  an 
admiration  and  respect,  unique  above  all  others. 

I  beg  therefore,  that  no  one  condemn  me  of  ingratitude  and 
rashness  on  this  score.  For  I  have  always  held  that  we  must 
render  the  ancients  our  warmest  thanks,  for  not  withholding 
from  us,  their  successors,  the  results  of  their  study  and  industry. 
If  they  have  been  mistaken,  in  any  matter,  we  must  excuse  it 
as  error  due  to  that  frailty,  which  is  part  of  the  human  lot. 
Moreover  it  is  far  more  profitable  to  learning  to  form  a  critical 
judgment  on  the  writings  of  the  great  authors,  than  to  merely 
acquiesce  in  their  authority,  and  to  receive  everything  on  trust 
from  others,  provided  that  in  forming  judgments  we  are  all  far 
removed  from  those  pests  of  criticism  and  assertion  of  one's 
views — viz.  envy,  bitterness,  over-haste,  impudence,  and  scur- 
rilous wit.  Nature  is  not  yet  so  effete  and  exhausted  as  to  be 
unable  to  bring  forth,  in  our  times,  results  comparable  to  those 
of  earlier  ages.  She  always  remains  equal  to  herself,  and  not 
rarely  she  comes  forward  more  strongly  and  powerful  than  in 
the  past,  as  if  mustering  together  all  her  forces.  So  we  must 
regard  her  in  this  present  age,  as  re-enforced  by  the  confirmed 
strength  which  has  developed,  by  degrees,  through  so  many 
centuries.  For  how  greatly  do  the  discoveries  of  earlier  ages 
and  experiences  spread  over  long  stretches  of  time,  open 
up  the  entrance  to  the  comprehension  of  the  different  branches 
of  knowledge?  It  is  therefore  clear  that,  if  we  only  apply 
our  minds  sufficiently,  we  can  judge  better  over  the  whole 
round  of  life  and  nature  than  could  Aristotle,  Plato,  or  any  of 


to  the  de  Disciplinis  9 

the  ancients,  who  spent  their  energies  in  so  prolonged  an  observa- 
tion of  the  greatest  and  hidden  things,  as  to  bring  forth  in  them 
rather  the  wondrous  admiration  of  newness  than  fresh  contribu- 
tions to  real  knowledge.  Further,  what  was  the  method  of 
Aristotle  himself?  Did  he  not  dare  to  pluck  up  by  the  root 
the  received  opinions  of  his  predecessors  ?  Is  it,  then,  to  be 
forbidden  to  us  to  at  least  investigate,  and  to  form  our  own 
opinions?  Especially  as  Seneca  wisely  declares  :  "Those  who 
have  been  active  intellectually  before  us,  are  not  our  masters 
but  our  leaders."  Truth  stands  open  to  all.  It  is  not  as  yet 
taken  possession  of.  Much  of  truth  has  been  left  for  future 
generations  to  discover. 

I  do  not  profess  myself  the  equal  of  the  ancients,  but 
I  bring  my  views  into  comparison  with  theirs.  Just  so  much 
confidence  should  be  given  to  my  opinions  as  the  cogency  of 
my  reasoning  justifies.  When,  on  the  other  hand,  the  weights  of 
arguments  are  equal,  it  would  be  impudent  for  anyone  to  refuse 
precedence  to  the  old  authors  over  myself,  or  over  any  recent 
writers,  for  ancient  opinion  has  been  put  to  the  test  by  long 
experience,  whilst  the  new  and  unknown  has  not  received  the 
confirmation  of  experience. 

For  my  own  part,  I  would  not  desire  that  anyone  should 
yield  his  opinion  to  mine.  I  do  not  wish  to  be  the  founder  of 
a  sect,  or  to  persuade  anyone  to  swear  by  my  conclusions.  If 
■you  think,  friends,  that  I  seem  to  offer  right  judgments,  see 
well  to  it  that  you  give  your  adherence  to  them,  because  they 
are  true,  not  because  they  are  mine.  This  attitude  is  useful  to 
yourselves,  and  would  be  of  help  generally,  in  all  your  studies. 
To  contend  fiercely  for  my  opinions  would  not  do  any  good  to 
myself,  whilst  it  would  injure  others,  by  leading  them  into  dis- 
sensions and  parties.  You,  who  seek  truth,  make  your  stand, 
wherever  you  think  that  she  is.  Leave  me,  whether  I  am  still 
living,  or  whether  I  have  already  met  the  fate  of  death,  leave 
me,  to  my  Jt^idge,  to  Whom  alone  my  conscience  will  have  to 
justify  itself.     I  do  not  doubt  that  I  have  often  made  mistakes 


lo        Pi'cfacc  of  J.   L.    Vives  of  Valencia 

in  wliat  1  have  brought  forward,  as  is  naturally  the  case,  with 
anyone  who  seeks  to  point  out  the  mistakes  of  others,  with 
whose  minds,  intellectual  zeal,  knowledge  and  experience,  he 
cannot  for  a  moment  compare.  Hut  like  as  Aristotle  begged 
for  gratitude  in  respect  of  what  he  had  discovered,  and  pardon 
for  what  he  had  omitted  ;  so  I  ask  that  my  good-will  in  the 
attempt  to  pursue  the  good  be  recognised,  and  that  you  pardon 
with  ready  good-will  the  errors  of  an  undertaking  which  is  so 
new.  No  knowledge  is  at  the  same  time  discovered  and 
perfected.  If  anyone,  perchance,  should  think  it  worth  while 
to  polish  up  these  rude  efforts  of  mine,  and  to  supply  what  is 
defective  in  them,  then,  perhaps,  there  will  be  supplied  a  work 
which  may  be  studied  with  some  fruitfulness. 


BOOK    I 

EDUCATIONAL   ORIGINS 

CHAPTER    I 

BEGINNINGS    OF   SOCIETY 

Man  naturally  is  induced  to  prepare  for  himself  those  things  which  he 
sees  to  be  necessary.  What  inventions  therefore  did  he  first  devise? 
The  Beginnings  of  Society.  The  rise  of  human  Needs  and  their 
Satisfaction.     The  consequent  earliest  inventions. 

Man   has  received  from  _God  a   great  gift,  viz.   a   mind, 
^.     r  ^  and  the  power  of  inquiring  into  things;    with 

The  three  ^  ,      ,      ,  j  i  i 

operations  which    power    he    can    behold    not    only    the 

°^)^%^X'  present,  but  also  cast  his  gaze  over  the  past 
apprehension,      and  the  future.     In  all  this,  man  considered  the 

(2)    Composi-  ,  .    r  r  ■  i    ^        u       i. 

tion  and  chicf  use  of  SO  great  an  instrument   to   be  to 

fr'Sxpiora-  examine  all  things,  to  collect,To  compare,  and 
tion  of  to  roam  through  the  universe  of  nature  as  if  it 

v  Nature.  ^^^^  j^.^  ^^^^  posscssion.    Nevertheless,  man  has 

wandered  further  out  of  the  way  than  he  has  advanced  in  the 

■  way.  If  anyone  looks  at  the  steps  he  has  accomplished  and 
the  results  at  which  he  has  arrived,  by  themselves,  they  seem 
quite  marvellous.  If  he  compares  them  with  what  has  yet  to 
be  attained,  he  must  conclude  that  man  has  scarcely  put  his 
foot  beyond  the  threshold,  so  few  and  so  obscure  are  those 
facts  which  he  possesses.  Indeed,  we  will  expose  the  rags 
of  this  beggarliness,  since  our  riches  appear  so  very  ample 
to  us  only  through  ignorance,  or  at  any  rate  through  want 
of  reflexion  upon  what  is  still  greater.  First  of  all,  the 
Means  of  love  of  self-preservation  which  nature  planted 

Sustenance.         j^   nian,    Stimulated   him    to   pay    attention    to 

F.  w.  I 


1 2  Educational  Origins  [book  i 

the  fact,  that  he  could  not  subsist  even  for  a  moment  if 
the  nourishment  of  Ufe  was  wanting ;  therefore  before  all  else, 
he  had  to  attend  to  those  things  which  he  must  have  in  order 
to  nourish  and  sustain  himself;  of  course  in  matters  of  eating 
and  drinking,  he  had  to  understand  how  to  distinguish  the 
beneficial  from  the  harmful  foods,  and  liow  to  prepare  and 
preserve  them.  And,  since  the  body  was  liable 
Medicine.  ^^  ^^^^^  diseases,  and,  as  it  were,  to  an   ever 

recurring  tyranny,  he  sought  means  to  fortify  himself  against 
disease,  so  that  it  should  not  attack  him,  and  that  he  might 
drive  it  out  if  it  did  attack  him.  Then  he  reflected  that  his 
tender  body,  exposed  as  it  was  to  injury  from  the  weather  and 
the  sun,  was  affected  harmfully  by  these  vicissitudes,  and  he 
invented  a  means  of  protecting  himself  from  the  violence  of 
cold  and  heat,  from  winter  and  storms\  So,  first,  covering 
was  applied  to  the  body.  Then,  since  clothes 
Clothes.  afforded  too  little  protection  against  the  greater 

forces  of  Nature,  man  heaped  up  things  impenetrable  to  those 
dangers,  stones,  mud,  fragments  of  rock,  wood, 
Buildings.  ^^^^  substances,  with  which  to  protect  himself 

But  since  even  then  men  were  not  sufficiently  secure  from  wild 
beasts,  who  might  make  an  attack  upon  them  while  they  were 
careless  and  unaware,  or  weighed  down  by  sleep,  they  sought 
means  of  sheltering  themselves,  so  that  their  rest 
^^^^^'  might  be  more  secure.     Since,  through  his  great 

helplessness  and  need  of  so  many  and  such  varied  things, 
no  one  was  sufficient  for  himself,  at  first,  many  people  lived 
too^ether  in  the  same  cave :  then  as  affection  narrowed  its 
bounds,  a  man  and  his  wife  seceded  with  their  children ;  they 
came  out  of  the  caves,  and  built  for  themselves  huts  and  tents 
of  small  pieces  of  wood,  and  covered  the  roofs  with  small  twigs 
of  trees^  At  first  these  huts  were  built  here  and  there  as  if 
spots  widely  spread  over  the  open  plain;  just  as  now,  cities  and 

1  Cf.  J.  L.  Vives,  dc  Caiisis  Coniiptariim  Aiiiiim,  near  bei^inning  of  bk  i. 

2  Cf.  Aristotle,  Politics,  bk  i,  chap.  i. 


CHAP,  i]  Beginnings  of  Society  13 

towns  are  built.  But  soon,  because  affection  exhorted  those 
who  wished  each  other  well  not  to  go  farther  away,  and  because 

need  of  mutual  help  urged  them,  certain  persons 
Villages.  brought  their  own  huts  together  into  a  kind  of 

village^  But,  however  much  simplicity  flourished 
Judgments.  ^-mong  them,  yet,  in  men  exposed  to,  and  sus- 
picious of,  injury,  some  complaints  existed.     Naturally  they 

all    referred   these  to  the    oldest   man,   just  as 

Government  .  .  , 

by  the  oldest  sons  to  their  father,  and  he,  since  man  s  nature 
"'^"-  at   this  time  was    less  corrupt,  obtained  power 

over  the  rest,  because  he  was  older;  and  for  that  reason,  he 
was  believed  to  surpass  every  one  else  in  experience  and 
wisdom.  But  when  they  discovered  that  there  were  not 
wanting  some  to  whom  white  hair  and  wrinkles  did  not 
bring  much  goodness  of  mind  and  heart,  and  others  whose 
cunning  increased  with  years,  they  sought  out  someone  who 
was  the  wisest  and  the  best.  In  this  also  they  made  mistakes; 
for  a  decision  cannot  be  made  as  to  who  is  wise  except  by  a 
wise  man.  If  for  any  reason  they  reverenced  greatly  a  particular 
man,  to  him  they  submitted  themselves ;  of  course  it  was  for 
that  reason  which  seemed  to  them  most  powerful  in  human 
affairs  ;  to  some  this  was  money,  to  others,  beauty  ;  to  others, 
strength  of  body  and  mind ;  to  others,  eloquence ;  to  others, 
birth;  to  others,  knowledge  ;  to  others,  the  reputation  of  justice. 
But  since  there  were  many  who  strove  for  that  honour,  and  the 
worse  claimants  would  not  yield  to  those  who  were  better,  because 
pride  persuaded  each  that  he  was  the  best,  then  there  arose 
parties  in  the  multitude  who  did  not  act  by  the  dictates  of  reason, 
but  with  excited  passions,  and  to  settle  the  discord,  one  was 
elected  by  common  agreement  to  be  the  judge ;  or  at  any  rate, 
after  conflict  one  was  proclaimed  the  victorious  claimant-.  In 
those  primitive  times  it  was  sufficient  to  state  what  ought  not 

1  Aristotle,  Politics,  bk  I,  chap.  i. 

'^  Homer,  Iliad,  W    304  o\jk  dyaOof   woXvKOipavii}  ■    ets   Kolpavos  eVrw  ds 
^a<TLKevs. 


14  Educational  Origins  [book  i 

to  be  done ;  the  ruler's  word  restrained  both  the  hands  and  the 

wills  of  the  people ;  so  great  among  them  was  respect  for  right 

and  justice.     Contumacy  grew  ;  then  laws  were 

Laws.  •' ,  ,  ,  •  ,      -, 

passed,   and    penalties  were   attached    to   their 
violation,  since  now  it  was  not  sufficient  to  forbid  ;  punishment 
was   threatened    for   the   terror  of  all,  lest    insolence   should 
spread  itself  abroad.     The  wish  to  do  evil  seized  not  only  one 
or  two  persons,  but  multitudes  of  men,  and  whole  peoples  :  so 
that  the  general  animosities  sought  to  glut  themselves  in  general 
bloodshed.     To  ward  off  these  sudden  risings,  those  who  were 
united  by  community   of   interests,   surrounded 
themselves  with  walls,  and  sought  weapons  with 
which  to  repulse  hostile  attacks.      Changes  in 
these  conditions  were   brought  about  in   the  course  of  time 
according  to  opportunities;  daily  business  brought  men  together, 
and  speech  bound  them  to  move  as  closely  as 
^^^'^  '  possible  amongst  one  another  in  an  indivisible, 

perpetual  society.  By  the  help  of  speech,  their  minds,  which 
had  been  hidden  by  concentration  on  bodily  needs,  began  to 
reveal  themselves;  single  words  were  attended  to,  then  phrases 
and  modes  of  speaking,  as  they  were  appropriate  for  use,  i.e.  as 
they  were  marked  by  public  agreement  of  opinion,  which  is,  as 
it  were,  what  a  mint  is  to  current  coin^  It  is  a  great  advantage 
to  have  a  common  language,  for  it  is  a  bond  which  holds  society 
together,  since  if  there  are  peculiar  ways  of  speaking  among 
sections  of  the  same  nation,  the  effect  is  that  of  using  foreign 
tongues ;  men  do  not  understand  each  other  thoroughly. 
Nothing  is  more  troublesome  to  those  who  have  business  to 
transact,  or  who  have  much  social  intercourse.  In  human 
society,  in  which  it  is  right  for  men  to  use  moderation  and 
reason,  it  was  fit  that  each  person  should  act,  not  rashly,  nor 
violently,  nor  in  the  manner  and  fashion  of  wild  beasts,  but 
modestly  and  moderately,  as  far  as  reason,  well  and  fittingly 
trained,  might  prompt  him.  It  is  from  reason  all  practical 
'  See  Cicero  de  Oraiore,  bk  I. 


CHAP,  i]  Beginnings  of  Society  1 5 

wisdom  springs,  and  practical  wisdom  is  like  a  rudder  for  guiding 
Practical  3,  ship,  and  its  use  is  exceedingly  great  all  through 

Wisdom.  lifg^  hol\\  in  regard  to  food,  clothing,  habitation, 

and  in  regard  to  a  man  himself,  his  wife,  children,  household  ; 
towards  his  fellow  citizens,  in  a  private  position,  towards  the 
magistracy  and  the  chief  officers,  or  towards  inferior  citizens  if 
he  himself  is  the  magistrate  or  chief  By  it  the  whole  order  of 
his  life  ought  to  be  regulated,  and  at  no  stage  of  his  life  should 
he  be  without  it,  nor  indeed  can  he  be  if  he  lives  humanly;  for 
all  the  humanities  come  under  the  head  of  wisdom  ;  from  it 
spring  those  sciences  which  the  Greeks  called  Ethics,  Eco- 
nomics, and  Politics.  These  are  subjects  which  the  human 
intellect  and  the  whole  nature  of  man  with  impulses  aroused 
by  the  Creator,  necessarily  found  out  and  built  up  into  organised 
knowledge.  If  they  were  excluded  entirely,  man  would  not  live 
at  all,  and  if  removed  in  part  he  would  live  not  a  human  life, 
but  the  life  of  a  wild  beast  or  a  savage. 

When  men  had  duly  provided  for  the  necessities  of  life,  the 
human    mind    passed   from    necessities  to  con- 

Conveniences.  .  i  i         ■  ■       i 

veniences,  so  that  havmg  acquired  them,  man 
might  not  only  have  something  by  which  to  protect  himself  from 
.  ^     f  such  great  and  constant  danger,  but  something 

Artsofneces-  o  &      '  o 

sity  and  of  pleasant  in  which  he  might  delight  now  that  the 

p  easure.  scnsc  of  want  had  been  driven  away.     For  while 

the  whole  of  man's  nature  was  oppressed  by  the  vast  power  and 
uncertainty  of  necessity,  everything  had  been  changed  into  an 
enemy ;  nor  could  man  think  of  anything  except  of  raising  this 
blockade'. 

But  when  everything  seemed  quiet  and  peaceable,  bodily 
pleasure  and  mental  pride  showed   themselves, 

Pleasure.  '■ 

and  they  sought  and,  as  it  were,  claimed  the 
greatest  portion  of  sovereignty  over  man.  Men  became  slaves 
of  pleasure,  and  planned  many  delights ;  they  became  the 
slaves  of  pride,  and  made  many  inventions  to  serve  as  vain 
ornaments,  whereby  was  gained  a  reputation  for  superiority. 
^  See  J.  L.  Vives,  de  Causis  Corruptarum  Artiiim,  bk  i. 


t6  Educational  Origins  [book  t 

Then  those  remedies  against  necessity,  and  the  devices  for  con- 
venience, were  either  transferred  to  the  service  of  pleasure,  or 
dragged  over  to  the  most  bitter  tyranny  of  pride, 
so  that  they  might  either  deHght   the  body,  or 
perform  as  it  were  a  play  on  the  stage  before  the  eyes  of  the 
beholders.     For  man's  needs  it  was  enough  to  have  few  things, 
and  such  as  could  easily  be  procured.     Luxury  added  more,  and 
pleasure  and   pride  united,  found  no  bound  or  limit.      Man's 
mind,  freed  from  anxiety  for  the  needs  of  the  present,  began  to 
live  again,  and  to  contemplate  leisurely,  as  it  were,  this  theatre, 
in  which  man  was  placed  by  God  ;  to  examine  separate  objects, 
which  were  in  the  heavens  and  in  the  elements,  earth  and  water  : 
namely  constellations,  living  beings,  plants,  gems,  metals,  stones, 
and  the  contents  of  his  own  mind.     Curiosity  led 
unosity.  j^.^^^  forward,  and  wlien  he  thought  he  had  made 

a  discovery,  he  felt  great  joy  as  if  from  a  victory.  That  pleasure 
was  constantly  increasing,  since  some  things  seemed  to  follow 
from  the  finding  of  others,  just  as  when  the  beginning  of  a 
thread  is  secured,  it  is  found  to  be  connected  with  another  set 
of  things  quite  different  from  those  which  were  being  examined. 
Then,  in  showing  his  inventions  as  if  they  were  children  born 
from  himself,  he  derived  pleasure  by  no  means  small  in  imparting 
them  to  others.  From  the  admiration  of  others  for  him,  he  felt 
at  first  great  joy,  but  when  all  eyes  were  turned  towards  him, 
an  idea  of  superiority  and  pride  grew  in  him.  A  violent  desire 
for  display  exciting  greater  admiration,  increased  to  such  a 
degree,  that  some  persons  neglected  all  the  duties  of  life,  so 
as  to  devote  and  give  up  themselves  entirely  to  investigation ; 
and  then  if  anyone  contradicted  them,  there  arose  strife, 
factions  and  sects.  This  desire  impelled  others 
to  know  what  no  one  else  knew ; — what  was 
going  to  happen,  or  what  was  buried  or  hidden  in  great 
darkness.  Then  came  men,  who  through  desire  for  money,  or 
the  possession  of  the  pleasures  which  they  coveted,  ventured 
most  impiously  to  learn  from  an  evil  spirit  those  secrets  which 
they  could  not  learn  from  a  mortal. 


CHAPTER    II 

BEGINNINGS    OF    STUDIES 

Of  what  importance  and  value  Religion  is  to  other  branches  of 
practical  life.  The  reputed  conventions  of  arts  and  of  those  know- 
ledges which  had  the  name  of  arts,  or  rather  those  which  are  worthy 
of  being  known.  The  influence  of  Religion  on  other  branches  of 
Knowledge.      The  Origin  of  Sciences  :    their  discoverers. 

Now,  this  unbridled  eagerness  for  knowledge  had  been 
carried  very  far,  when,  in  the  midst  of  the  course,  that 
on-rush  of  mental  energy  began  to  be  checked  by  the 
most  capable  minds,  while  they  considered  what  at  length 
was  to  be  the  goal  of  such  a  wide  and  anxious  course, 
what  was  to  be  the  reward  of  such  continuous  labour — a 
question  particularly  worthy  of  the  attention  of  the  human 
race.  For  what  is  the  good  of  fatiguing  oneself  with  this 
effort,  if  nothing  is  gained  by  desires  except  fresh  desires ;  if 
the  end  of  one  longing  is  the  beginning  of  another ;  if  we 
work  continually,  and  there  is  no  end  or  rest?  For  what  is 
more  wretclied  than  man,  the  most  excellent  of  the  animals, 
if,  in  this  manner,  he  seeks  after  and  desires  the  things  which 
are  exposed  to  his  senses,  and  which  are  connected  on  all 
sides  with  his  life,  and  then  they  bring  him  no  rest  or  delight, 
and  produce  no  pure,  soUd,  or  lasting  joy?  That,  as  I  said, 
Thei«;«;;/«;«  '^  a  Very  excellent  inquiry,  and  one  far  more 
bonmn.  worthy  of,  and  suitable  for,  our  intellect,  than  an 

investigation  as  to  the  measure  or  material  of  the  heavens,  or 
the  virtues  of  plants  or  stones  ;  and  yet  one  hard  to  explain, 
which  by  its  difficulty  has  exercised  the  greatest  minds  more 


1 8  Educational  Origins  [book  i 

than  it  has  instructed  them  ;  in  truth,  because  the  human  mind, 
provided  with  its  small  lamp,  is  not  able  to  attain  to  the  con- 
ception of  that  ultimate  end,  unless  it  has  been  enlightened  by 
the  end  itself;  as  happens  to  those  who  go  into  dark  places 
by  help  of  a  light.  Therefore,  there  was  need  of  God,  not  only 
to  teach  us  how  to  come  to  Him,  but  also  to  lead  us  by  the 

hand,  since  we  are  weak,  and  constantly  liable  to 

e  igion.  ^^jj^     'Y\-\\%  is  the  function  of  religion,  which  we 

receive  from  God  Himself,  a  ray  from  His  Light,  strength  from 

His  Omnipotence.     This  alone  brings  us  back  to  the  source 

from  which  we  came,  and  towards  which  we 
Tf^el^ry^hing  are  going.  Nor  is  there  any  other  perfection 
constituted  by      of  man,  Seeing  that  when  this  is  accomplished, 

every  end  for  which  he  was  formed  is  obtained  \ 
For  who  is  there  who  has  considered  the  power  and  loftiness  of 
the  mind,  its  understanding  of  the  most  remarkable  things,  and, 
through  understanding,  love,  and  from  love  the  desire  to  unite 
himself  with  the  things  of  knowledge,  who  does  not  perceive 
clearly  that  man  was  created,  not  for  food,  clothing  and  habita- 
tion, not  for  difficult,  hidden  and  troublesome  knowledge, 
but  for  the  desire  to  know  God  more  truly,  for  a  participation 
in  eternity,  and  in  His  divine  nature?    Wherefore,  since  that  is 

the  perfection  of  man's  nature,  and  the  consum- 
pfe'ty'the  way  mation  of  all  its  parts ;  and  since  piety  is  the 
to  the  goal  of       only  way  of  perfecting  man,  and  accomplishing 

the  end  for  which  he  was  formed,  therefore  piety 
is  of  all  things  the  one  thing  necessary.  Without  the  others, 
man  can  be  perfected  and  complete  in  every  part ;  but— 
not  without  this.  He  can  even  do  without  food  and  daily 
sustenance,  but  not  without  piety,  unless  he  is  in  the  future 
to  be  most  miserable.  This  is  what  the  Lord  said  to  Martha, 
who  was  anxious  not  only  about  unnecessary  things,  but  about 
the  daily  food — "  thou  art  careful,  and  troubled  about  many 
things ;   one  thing  is  needful,  which  Mary  hath  chosen,  to  sit 

1  Aristotle,  Ethics,  bk  i. 


CHAP,  ii]  Beginnings  of  Studies  19 

at  the  feet  of  the  Lord  and  to  hear  His  words\"  Wherefore 
all  arts  and  all  learning,  without  religion,  are  childish  play.  For, 
just  as  the  human  mind  has  invented  and  occupies  itself  with 
what  we  call  games,  of  small  dice,  or  cards,  or  balls  ;  or  as  with 
fiery  energy  it  tries  to  be  intent  upon  some  pastime,  but  knows 
nothing  better  or  has  nothing  better  to  do ;  or  is  slothful 
and  lazy,  and  does  not  rouse  itself  to  the  labour  of  the  good 
arts;  or  as  it  withdraws  its  attention  from  more  difficult  matters, 
so  as  to  return  to  serious  studies  afterwards,  refreshed  by 
relaxation — so  the  mind  of  men  has  exercised  itself  in  the  arts 
and  in  the  investigation  of  different  kinds  of  subjects.  Hence, 
partly  through  ignorance  of  religion  and  partly  because  it  is 
fettered  by  the  weight  of  studies,  the  mind  cannot  rise  to  religion 
or,  through  laziness,  does  not  try ;  and  thus  neither  bestows 
refreshment  on  the  body  to  which  it  is  attached,  nor  collects 
its  renewed  powers  to  efforts  in  the  territory  of  religion.  And 
just  as  among  us,  those  who  are  not  clever  at  games,  but  do 
possess  experience  of  life  and  practical  wisdom  of  life,  are  not 
blamed — but  we  hold  him  who  plays  games,  but  is  untrained 
in  practical  wisdom,  as  disgraceful  and  blameworthy — so  he 
who  knows  none  of  the  arts  but  yet  has  a  practical  knowledge 
of  virtue,  and  has  formed  and  ordered  his  life  by  its  rules, 
is  so  far  from  being  blamed  that  he  is  deserving  of  praise. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  is  worthy  of  ignominy  and  dishonour 
who  is  learned  and  instructed  in  human  arts,  but  is  destitute 
of  virtue.  Socrates,  a  pagan,  made  this  clear  in  many  of  his 
disputations,  and  other  pagans  followed  him.  Wherefore  the 
sons  of  Lamech  are  said  to  have  found  out  profane  learning 
and  to  have  recorded  it  in  literary  works  ;  "  the  children  of  this 
generation  are,"  as  the  Holy  Gospel  says'-,  "in  their  generation 
wiser  than  the  children  of  light."  But  all  our  knowledge  is 
a  kind  of  close  inspection  which  either  consists  in  the  con- 
templation of  each  particular  object,  e.g.  when  the  eye  observes 
closely  the  distinctions  in  a  variety  of  colours,  and  again  when 
1   S.  Luke  X.  4 1 — 42.  -  S.  Luke  xvi.  8. 


20  Educational  Origins  [book  i 

the  mind  ponders  over  tlie  memory  of  events,  or  considers 
closely  and  seeks  after  some  end  ;  if  it  collects  general  aspects 
Th»  ,^oo„»,-         or  norms  to  a  definite  end,  it  is  called  an  art.    In 

1  he  manner  ' 

in  which  arts  the  beginning  first  one,  then  another  experience, 
covere/and  through  wonder  at  its  novelty,  was  noted  down  for 
developed.  ^gg  jj^  jjfg  .    fj-^^j.,  ^  number  of  separate  experi- 

ments the  mind  gathered  a  universal  law,  which  after  it  was 
further  supported  and  confirmed  by  many  experiments,  was 
considered  certain,  and  established.  Then  it  was  handed  down 
to  posterity.  Other  men  added  subject-matter  which  tended  to 
the  same  use  and  end.  This  material,  collected  by  men  of 
great  and  distinguished  intellect,  constituted  the 

Arts 

branches  of  knowledge,  or  the  arts,  to  use  the 
general  name.  Now,  whatever  is  in  the  arts  was  in  nature  first, 
just  as  pearls  are  in  shells,  or  gems  in  the  sand,  but  because  the 
dull  eyes  of  many  men  passed  them  by  without  notice,  they  were 
pointed  out  by  men,  more  alert,  and  the  latter  were  called  dis- 
coverers, not  as  if  they  themselves  had  made  something  which 

previously  had  no  existence,  but  because  they 
came'^lmed'  revealed  what  had  been  hid.  Therefore,  the  first 
discoverers  in       observers  who  hoped  that  something  could  be 

the  arts.  ,        ^  ,-  r 

brought  mto  some  art  are  the  first  discoverers  of 
the  arts.  Seneca  says  that  "each  person  who  has  hoped  to 
discover  something  has  greatly  aided  discovery."  We  award 
also  the  same  honour  to  those  who  have  collected  rules  from 
experiences,  e.g.  Hippocrates,  who,  as  is  related  by  M.  Vairo, 
collected  the  rules  of  medicine  which  were  found  in  the  Temple 
of  Aesculapius  and  from  them  made  formulae,  and  in  fact  formed 
a  conception  of  the  art.  But  those  who  bring  together  scattered 
facts  and  make  clear  what  is  confused,  and  explain  the  involved, 
and  bring  light  and  clearness  to  what  is  obscure,  have  also  ob- 
tained the  name  of  discoverers,  e.g.  Aristotle',  in  his  Dialectic. 

Therefore,  as  Manilius'  sings,  "Experience 
Experience.  through  various  applications  has  made  art."  Yet 
I  See  last  chapter  of  the  Elenchi.  "  Astronomkon,  bk  i,  1.  6i. 


CHAP,  ii]  Beginnings  of  Studies  21 

experiences  are  casual  and  uncertain  unless  they  are  ruled  by 
reason,  which  must  preside  over  them  like  the  rudder  or  the  pilot 
in  a  ship ;  otherwise  they  will  be  risky,  and  the  whole  art  will 
Experience  be  fortuitous  and  not  certain.     This  may  be  seen 

deceptive.  jj^  jj^g  c^sg  of  thosc  who  are  led  by  experiences 

alone  without  a  standard  as  to  their  nature  and  quality,  and 
without  respect  to  the  place,  time,  and  the  remaining  circum- 
stances, for  it  ought  to  be  as  Plato  says  in  Gorgias,  "let 
experience  bring  forth  the  art,  and  let  art  rule  experience." 
As  a  certain  power  is  given  to  the  earth  to  produce  herbs  of 
every  kind\  so  our  minds  are  as  it  were  endued  with  a  certain 
power  of  seeds  over  all  arts  and  all  learning ;  and  a  certain 
proneness  to  those  first  and  most  simple  truths,  by  which 
tendency  the  mind  is  carried  on ;  a  wish  for  the  aims  that 
are  most  clearly  good;  a  quickness  of  mind«for  the  most 
manifest  truths,  just  as  there  is  a  sharpness  of  the  eye  for 
green  and  of  the  ear  for  harmony.  Aristotle  perhaps  would 
have  called  this  tendency  "power"  whilst  Plato  calls  it  "seeds"; 
and  I  have  nothing,  of  course,  to  say  against  the  name.  Others 
apply  the  name  7rpoX>7i//ets,  i.e.  anticipations  and  monitions 
impressed  and  fixed  in  our  minds  by  nature.  That  is  the  reason 
why  the  boy  agrees  at  once  to  the  most  evident  truth  which  he 
has  never  seen  before,  just  as  the  lamb  flees  from  the  wolf  which 
it  has  never  before  beheld.  Idleness  and  sloth  crush  these 
seeds  and  destroy  them;  but  exercise,  through  the  use  of  things, 
produces  from  them  a  plant  and  fruit.  The  judgment  cultivates 
and  directs  them,  just  as  natural  fruits  are  rendered  better  by 
the  hands  and  the  care  of  men.  Wherefore  if  there  is  no 
judgment,  or  if  it  is  clearly  deceived,  they  degenerate  into 
fraud  and  lying,  in  exactly  the  same  way  as  the  whole  mass 
becomes  sour  from  sour  leaven  or  rennet.  Nor  do  certain  false 
impostures  deserve  the  name  of  arts  or  knowledge,  e.g.  the  tricks 
of  demons  or  of  diviners  :  for  judgment  does  not  govern  their 
laws,  but  desire;  and  these  tricks  are  handed  down  in 
1  Genesis  i.  12. 


2  2  Educational  Origins  [book  i 

pyromancy,  necromancy,  the  art  of  judging  from  lines  m  the 
hands  (chiromancy),  from  astrology,  as  they  came  into  the 
minds  of  certain  peoples.  Thus,  they  are  different  among 
the  Egyptians  and  the  Chaldeans ;  and  are  not  the  same  among 
the  Greeks  and  Arabians.  Assuredly,  these  can  no  more  be  said 
to  be  "  observations  "  than  if  anyone  were  to  say  he  saw  a  stick 
in  the  water  broken  when  it  is  whole,  or  many  colours  in  the 
rainbow  when  there  are  none. 

But  I  only  call  that  knowledge  which  we  receive  when  the 
What  know-  senses  are  properly  brought  to  observe  things  and 
'edge  is.  i,-,  ^  methodical  way  to  which  clear  reason  leads 

us  on,  reason  so  closely  connected  with  the  nature  of  our  mind 
that  there  is  no  one  who  does  not  accept  its  lead;  or  our 
reasoning  is  "  probable,"  when  it  is  based  on  our  own  ex- 
periences or  those  of  others,  and  confirmed  by  a  judgment, 
resting  upon  probable  conjecture.  The  knowledge  in  the 
former  case  is  called  science,  firm  and  indubitable,  and  in  the 
latter  case,  belief  or  opinion.     Not  every  kind  of 

What  arts  are.       ,  ,     ,  .  ,,     ,  ,  ,        i  i  •    i. 

knowledge  is  called  an  art,  but  only  that  which 
becomes  a  rule  for  doing  something ;  e.g.  those  things  which 
happen  at  random  or  by  chance  are  not  done  by  art  as,  for 
example,  the  representation  in  a  picture  of  the  foam  of  a  horse, 
which  owed  its  origin  to  the  painter  having  thrown  a  sponge  at 
the  picture,  in  anger\  For  art  is  the  means  of  attaining  a  sure 
The  "end"  of  ^nd  predetermined  end.  Every  art,  first  of  all, 
an  art.  has  j^ji  gnd,  which  it  keeps  in  view,  towards  which 

it  aims  everything,  like  arrows  to  a  target,  either  directly  or 
indirectly.  Further  it  occupies  itself  with  the  material  with 
Its  subject-  regard  to  which  the  end  arises ;  and  it  does  not 

matter.  occupy  itself  with   that  material  otherwise  than 

by  teaching  those  precepts  which,  being  practised,  lead  to  the 
end  of  the  art. 

'   See  Plinv,  Nat.  Hist,  .xxxv,  104. 


CHAPTER    III 


ARTS   AND    SCIENCES 

On  the  number  and  variety  of  the  arts  ;  whence  they  were  taken.  An 
inquiry  into  what  pertains  to  the  arts,  one  by  one,  and  the  teachers 
of  them.  The  number  and  variety  of  arts  and  sciences,  and  their 
subject-matter. 

In  the  arts,  as  in  every  kind  of  work,  the  end  is  first  brought 
The  end  of  to  the  mind  by  reflexion;  then  follows  the  carry- 

^"  ^'^"  ing  it  out.     But  not  so  in  the  invention  of  each 

art.  For  there  are  arts  in  which  the  material  is  sought  because 
of  the  end,  as  in  agriculture,  where  all  things  are  brought  together 
Its  subject-  to  sustain  life.     In  others,  the  end  is  desired  be- 

™*"^''"  cause  of  the  material,  e.g.  in  the  contemplation 

of  nature,  when  this  most  beautiful  work  captivates  us  while 
gazing  in  admiration  of  it,  and  the  prospect  itself  and  an  under- 
standing of  so  great  a  work  are  the  aims  sought,  and  in  this 
pursuit,  the  subject-matter  allures  men.  In  other  cases,  the  art 
The  is  discovered  by  a  kind  of  accident,  as  when  a 

differences  piece  of  work  is  done  in  an  art,  beyond  the  design 

amongst  arts  ,.,.,.,,  ,  . 

according  to  Set  before  himself  by  the  workman,  e.g.  m  many 
Aristotle.  omaments,  in  the  inlaying  of  tables,  and  lately 

in  artillery'.  In  others,  the  end  of  knowledges  is  knowledge 
itself,  and  these  are  called  "the  contemplative  arts":  such  as 
the  contemplation  of  nature,  and  that  of  quantities  which  is  called 
geometry.  The  end  of  other  arts  is  action,  as  in  music  when, 
after  the  action,  nothing  is  left.    These  are  called  "active  arts." 

1  See  Polydore  Vergil  bk  ii,  chap,  xi  and  bk  in,  chap,  xviii. 


24  Educational  Origins  [book  i 

The  end  of  other  arts  is  some  work  or  effect  besides  the  action, 
as  in  building,  medicine,  which  are  termed  "  practical."  Some 
are  instruments  for  effecting  other  objects,  e.g.  grammar  and 
dialectic,  which  for  this  cause  are  called  by  the  Greeks  opyava. 
Those  which  are  not  brought  together  under  rules  and  precepts 
are  not  arts  at  all,  but,  to  use  a  general  name,  are  experiential 
knowledge,  e.g.  the  knowledge  of  history  or  the  contemplation 
What  an  of  God.     Wherefore  an  art  is  defined  for  us  as  a 

art  is.  collection  of  universal  rules  brought  together  for 

the  purpose  of  knowing,  doing  or  producing  something;  although 
oftentimes  certain  things  in  an  ait  are  not  sufficiently  universally 
observed,  e.g.  in  the  contemplation  of  nature.  Therefore  the 
expression  "an  art"  is  sometimes  used  in  a  wider  sense,  i.e. 
for  "  observation  "  and  also  at  times  for  a  kind  of  knowledge  in 
which  there  is  nothing  presumptuous  or  dangerous.  But  we 
have  to  be  warned  ;  the  material  of  the  arts  is  not  of  one  kind 
or  description.  In  some  it  is  single  and  simple, 
differences  in  ^s  in  theology,  God.  In  others,  single  but  com- 
subject-matter     posed  of  various  things,  e.g.  in  statuary,  a  statue 

of  the  arts.  '^  ^  ,       ^  i  t       ■,  /-^ 

may  be  formed  of  metal,  stone,  mud,  clay.  One 
kind  of  material  is  quite  natural,  as  in  agriculture  ;  another, 
quite  artificial,  as  in  economics  and  politics.  There  is  another 
kind  of  material,  natural  indeed,  but  cultivated  by  us  through 
use,  e.g.  in  painting,  building,  oratory.  The  practice  of  an  art 
The  practice  is  nothing  but  the  carrying  out  of  its  precepts ; 
of  an  art.  t^at  indeed  is  the  part  of  the  pursuer  of  the  art, 

and  the  precepts  are  his  instruments  rather  than  those  of  the  art 
itself.  The  end  of  the  artificer  is  the  carrying  out  of  its  precepts. 
The  end  of  the  art  is  always  a  very  excellent  work  which  will 
surely  be  the  result  of  that  action  if  nothing  prevents,  e.g.  the 
end  of  the  medical  art  is  health,  but  that  of  the  doctor  is  the 
application  of  drugs  according  to  the  rules  of  the  art.  Thus 
that  which  is  for  the  art  itself  only  the  means,  viz.  the  precepts, 
is,  for  the  practiser  of  the  art,  the  end,  and  for  this  cause  neither 
art  nor  artist  can  be  deprived  of  their  separate  ends.     For  an 


CHAP.  Ill]  Af^ts  and  Sciences  25 

art  does  not  regard  the  separate  cases,  but  all  in  common, 
which  are  bound  together  by  that  method  by  which  the  art 
teaches :  whilst,  what  the  artificer  does  is  concerned  with 
separate  cases.  The  art  performs  nothing,  but  only  teaches. 
,.    ,  Wherefore  the  art  of  medicine  does  not  concern 

In  practical 

arts  we  meet  itself  with  the  health  of  this  or  that  person,  but 
dividual  and  Considers  in  general  the  health  which  ought  to 
the  particular,  j^g  jj^g  consequeuce  of  its  precepts  and  laws. 
These  are  afterwards  applied  by  the  doctor  in  the  case  of  indi- 
vidual men,  as  from  a  fountain.  Wherefore  if  the  rules  of  the 
art  (when  there  is  nothing  from  without  to  prevent),  fail  to 
produce  health,  the  art  is  not  yet  perfectly  established;  but, 
if  health  necessarily  follows,  then  of  course  it  is  complete  and 
perfect :  and  it  directs  the  eye  to  some  certain  end,  which 
is  always  attained  if  the  most  suitable  way  has  been  taken 
Art  and  the  towards  it.     Therefore  this  discussion  of  ours  is 

artificer.  not  about  that  art  which  is  pursued  amongst  men, 

but  with  that  whose  perfection  is  founded  in  the  nature  and 
power  of  things,  and  in  the  minds  of  men.  For  that  which  we 
discover,  attain  and  practise,  by  our  own  stupidity,  is  generally 
not  an  art,  but  the  image  of  an  art  or  some  slight  portion  of  an 
art.  I  will  say  the  same  thing  about  the  practiser  of  the  art 
who  laments  that  he  has  had  very  little  success  in  this  or  that 
case  ;  it  is  not  through  the  fault  of  the  art,  which  ought  not  to 
and  cannot  show  the  hindrance  to  actions ;  nor  should  he 
himself  be  blamed  if  he  has  duly  carried  out  and  applied  the 
precepts  of  his  art.  As  in  Rhetoric,  it  is  the  business  of  the 
art  to  show  the  rules  of  persuasion,  but  it  is  the  orator's 
function  to  apply  them  so  as  to  persuade.  Wherefore,  just  as 
desires  and  roads  are  all  separated  from  one  another  and 
How  arts  are  denoted  by  their  end,  so  all  the  arts  are  distin- 
distinguished.  guished  by  their  end,  not  by  the  subject-matter. 
For  diverse  arts  may  deal  with  the  same  material,  e.g.  the  arts 
of  the  coiner  and  the  smith  use  iron  ;  those  of  the  carpenter, 
the  coach-maker,  the  maker  of  statues,  use  wood.     Artificers, 


26  Educational  Origins  [book  i 

also,  differ  in  their  mode  of  action,  in  the  material  they  use  and 
in  their  instruments. 

Besides  the  ends  of  the  art  and  of  the  artificer,  there  is  the 
human  end.  The  end  of  everything  good  is  covered  with  a 
veil ;  because  it  is  reached  only  as  a  last  point.  But  nothing 
can  be  sought  unless  it  is  believed  to  be  good.  Men  consider 
that  what  benefits  them  is  good,  and  what  injures  them  is  evil. 
But  they  believe  that  they  can  be  benefited  in  mind  and  in 
body ;  and  on  that  account,  many  external  things  are  counted 
as  useful ;  whence  it  happens  that  since  the  opinions  of  men 
The  end  are  different,  through  their  opinions  their  desires 

of  arts.  jj^g  different,  one  fixes  on  one  end  in  his  pursuit 

of  arts ;  another  on  another,  each  for  himself  In  the  case  of 
some,  the  consideration  of  money  has  great  influence  ;  every- 
thing has  reference  to  that\  Others  prefer  reputation,  glory, 
dignity,  power.  There  are  some  who  seek  the  arts  for  the  sake 
of  pleasure  and  luxury.  Others  long  for  knowledge  and  the 
enjoyment  of  things.  Others  desire  the  cultivation  and  in- 
crease of  piety  :  some  desire  some  one  of  these  things  ;  others, 
many ;  others,  very  many.  There  are  some  who  wish  to 
acquire  knowledge  of  arts  for  themselves ;  others  who  wish  to 
share  them  when  they  are  acquired ;  some,  for  themselves 
alone;  others,  for  those  who  are  dear  to  them — for  instance,  their 
children  ;  thus,  Zenobia  studied  Greek  that  she  might  teach  her 
sons ;  and  Aristotle  is  said  to  have  spent  much  labour  on  the 
art  of  medicine,  that  he  might  help  his  friends:  so,  some  labour 
for  the  state ;  many  for  posterity,  which  stands  to  them  in 
the  place  of  sons.  It  is  thought  that  evil  is  to  be  avoided 
instead  of  seeking  the  good  ;  for  to  escape  evil  is  considered 
as  a  profitable  thing,  just  as  it  is  to  obtain  good.  And  just  as 
many  study  so  as  to  be  of  use  to  those  whom  they  wish  well, 
so  not  a  few  study  in  order  that  they  may  injure  those  whom 
they  hate,  even  in  the  act  of  conferring  on  them  those  things 
to  which  the  name  of  benefits  is  given. 

'  See  Aristotle,  Ethics,  bk  i. 


CHAP,  hi]  A7^^s  and  Sciences  27 

I  think,  too,  that  we  ought  to  notice  how  and  from  whom 
we  are  to  learn  :  then,  to  consider  the  results  of 
and  how  we        learning.     For  God  teaches  us,  and  also  those 
are  to  learn  whom  He  has  Sent,  the  prophets  of  old:  then, 

the  Apostles  and  holy  men.  Then  we  are  taught 
by  means  of  schools,  some  to  whom  the  duty  was  commanded  ; 
sometimes  angels  teach ;  heretics  teach ;  bad  and  wicked  men 
teach ;  devils  teach — fathers,  mothers,  old  men,  young  men, 
boys,  women,  skilled  and  unskilled  persons — even  dumb 
animals  teach  us ;  e.g.  the  Egyptian  ibis,  the  clyster ;  the 
hippopotamus,  the  cutting  of  a  vein  ;  the  swallows,  in  their 
building;  other  animals,  in  the  use  of  herbs^  Now  some 
learn  in  such  a  way  that  they  leave  no  time  for  the  affairs  of 
the  citizens,  their  friends,  relations,  family,  parents,  children  : 
every  moment  is  entirely  devoted  to  their  studies.  Others 
study  so  that  they  cut  off  the  time  which  nature  requires,  and 
endanger  their  health  and  minds.  There  are  not  wanting 
some  who  (which  is  most  impious)  leave  no  time  for  piety,  or 
less  than  they  ought,  but  readily  follow  after  other  things. 
There  are  some  who  wisely  attend  to  everything,  and  distribute 
to  each  employment  its  proper  time.  Many  however  are 
slothful,  just  as  if  the  only  business  entrusted  to  them  was  to 
be  lazy.  Everything  is  done  at  odd  times,  and  carelessly. 
That  which  instruction  effects  in  the  pupil,  or  through  him  on 
others,  I  call  the  issue  of  learning  :  namely,  that  he  becomes 
in  mind,  better  or  worse,  wiser  or  more  foolish ;  in  body, 
stronger  or  weaker,  more  beautiful  or  more  ugly.  In  short, 
the  value  of  the  study  of  an  art  to  a  scholar  may  be  judged  by 
the  development  in  him,  or  through  him  to  others,  of  one  of 
these  classes  of  advantages  or  disadvantages. 

^  Pliny,  bk  viii,  chaps,  xxvi  and  xxvii. 


F.  W. 


CHAPTER    IV 

GOD    OUR   HIGHEST   GOOD 

Since  it  is  God  to  Whom,  as  our  Supreme  Good,  it  behoves  us  to  refer 
ourselves  and  all  that  is  ours,  we  must  study  those  arts  which  cherish 
our  love  towards  Him,  and  reject  immediately  the  study  of  those 
which  either  diminish  or  extinguish  it.     God  is  the  Highest  Good.  K 
How  this  proposition  affects  our  view  of  the  Arts  and  Sciences. 

Now  we  must  show  what  arts  are  harmful  to  men  and  to 
what  extent,  and  which,  on  the  contrary,  are  beneficial.  Man, 
like  everything  else,  is  to  be  judged  by  his  end:  for  he  is 
fruitless  and  most  miserable  if  he  does  not  attain  his  end, 
but  most  perfect  and  most  happy  if  he  does  attain  it.  What 
The  end  Can  we    fix   as    the   end    of  man,   except  God 

of  man.  Himself?     Or  where  can  man  more   blessedly 

repose,  than  when  he  is,  as  it  were,  absorbed  in  God  and 
changed  into  His  nature?  We  must  return  to  Him  hy  the 
same  way  we  came  forth  from  Him.  Love  was  the  cause  of 
our  being  created ;  for  no  sign  of  His  love  can  be  more  evident 
than  that  He  created  us,  in  order  that  stich  great  happiness 
might  be  communicated  to  us.  From  that  love  we  have  been 
separated,  forsooth  by  the  love  of  ourselves.  By  that  love  we 
have  been  recalled  and  raised  up,  that  is  to  say,  by  the  love  of 
Christ.  By  love,  i.e.  by  our  love  to  God,  we  are  to  return 
to  our  source,  which  is  also  our  end ;  for  nothing  else  is  able  to 
bind  together  spiritual  things,  nothing  is  able  to  make  one 
out  of  many,  except  love ;   but  knowledge  must 

Love  of  God  ■"  ^  '  ° 

and  of  precede  love.     God  loved   us   before  we  were 

ourselves.  ^^^^^^^   because   He  knew  that  we  had  already 


CHAP,  iv]         God  our  Highest  Good  29 

proceeded  from  Him ;  we  exercise  love  after  we  are  born  and 
have  obtained  the  power  and  habit  of  knowing.  But  faith  will 
show  what  things  ought  to  be  loved,  since  the  first  and  simplest 
elements  of  piety  have  been  handed  down  to  each  person 
from  God  the  Father  of  all  and  His  Son  Jesus  Christ  Who, 
for  the  redemption  of  our  sinful  bodies,  took  upon  Himself 
our  same  body,  but  was  without  sin.  How  the  same  things 
are  to  be  known  and  loved  is  declared  very  clearly,  not  by 
any  writings  invented  by  men  but  by  the  divine  oracles,  which 
writings  have  come  from  the  Holy  Spirit  and  in  which  there  is 
perfect  knowledge  of  the  divine  life,  which  is  called  piety  or 
religion ;  but  its  power  is  comprised  more  in  action  than  in 
knowledge. 

Those  first  elements  are  not  so  simple  that  they  do  not 
Piety  or  suffice  for  action  ;    no    one   should   be  utterly 

Religion.  ignorant  of  them.      But  the  perfection  of  piety 

is  that  of  those  who  exalt  themselves  through  their  love,  which 
not  only  is  fiery,  but  like  a  fire  lifts  up  on  high  those  whom  it 
takes  possession  of.  These  are  like  him  to  whose  charge  the 
flock  was  committed,  and  who  heard  from  his  Lord,  "  Lovest 
thou  me  more  than  these'?"  Such  as  these  should  be  powerful 
in  sound  doctrine  and  resist  those  who  contradict  it,  as  Paul 
the  Apostle  saysl  This  knowledge  of  the  divine  life  rests  on 
its  own  strength  and  is  consistent  with  itself;  nor  does  it  need 
any  supports  at  all ;  rather,  in  it  alone  all  the  treasures  of 
knowledge  and  wisdom  are  locked  up.  All  other  things 
whatever  written  by  heathen  authors  on  other  subjects,  or,  to 
a  certain  extent,  on  the  same  subject,  are  childish  stammerings 
and  utter  ignorance  when  compared  with  this  holy  and  admirable 
Pig^y^  wisdom.    This  ought  to  be  the  standard  of  other 

the  "rule"  principles,  just  as  God  is  of  spirits  and  man  of 

for  arts.  ,  •    •  ^  ,  ■,  •     ,       ^  , 

livmg  creatures ;   so  that  every  kmd  of  learnmg 
may  be  valued  to  the  extent  that  by  its  matter,  its  end  taken  as 
our  end,  its  teachers,  its  method  and  its  results,  it  agrees  or  does 
1  S.  John  xxi.  15.  2  Y\\.\x%  i.  9. 


30  Educational  Origins  [book  i 

not  agree  with  this  standard.  No  subject-matter,  no  knowledge 
is,  of  itself,  contrary  to  ])iety.  I  call  that  contrary  which  is  at 
variance  with  faith  and  love,  that  namely  which  takes  these 
virtues  utterly  away,  or  certainly  lessens  them  by  bringing  into 
the  mind  wickedness  and  sin.  For  materials  of  study  are  taken 
from  things  which  the  good  God  has  made,  and  therefore  they 
are  good.  Neither  is  piety  adverse  to  anything  good,  since  it 
becomes  itself  the  crown  of  everything  good  and  nothing  in 
us  can  be  good  without  it,  nor  can  anything  be  inimical  to  it, 
since  its  author  is  He  whose  worship  and  religion  piety  pro- 
fesses, and  for  which  it  prepares  man's  will. 
,f/°Xvtf  Indeed    all  things,   the   more   exactly   they  are 

through  the  known,  the  more  do  they  open  the  doors  of 
entrance  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Deity,  i.e. 
the  supreme  Cause,  through  His  works  ;  and  this  is  the  most 
fitting  way  for  our  minds  to  reach  to  the  knowledge  of  God. 
Philo  Judaeus'  writes  that  it  was  thus  Abraham  came  to  find 
The  Book  out  God.     For,  from  the  heavens  and  the  ele- 

of  Nature.  ments,  from  their  eternal  motions,  their  invariable 

order,  the  fixed  regularity  of  the  years  and  the  seasons,  he  came 
to  understand  that  there  is  some  wisdom  by  which  all  these 
sure  and  constant  things  are  ruled.  Therefore,  casting  aside 
and  despising  the  follies  of  the  gods,  which  man  had  created 
for  himself  so  that  he  might  adore  his  own  handiwork,  he 
sought  and  worshipped  it.  The  great  Basil-  relates  that  Moses 
so  trained  his  mind  by  the  knowledge  of  Egyptian  learning 
that  he  arrived  at  the  contemplation  rov  ovtos.  Hence  the 
holy  Psalmist  sings,  "The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  firmament  sheweth  his  handiwork^"  and  Paul,  "I  have 
learnt  the  invisible  things  of  God  through  the  visible-*."  I  pass 
over  what  John  Pico  writes  about  natural  magic,  which  serves 
the  useful  purpose  of  making  us  understand  how  the  miracles 
of  Our  Lord  clearly  exceeded  all  the  power  and  skill  of  Nature. 

1   De  Migratione  Abrahami,  bk  I.  ^  Homil.  (to  Youth)  54. 

3  Psalm  xix.  1.  ^  Romans  i.  20. 


CHAP,  iv]         God  our  Highest  Good  31 

I,  for  my  part,  think  that  proud  ignorance  is  more  inimical  to 
piety  than  modest  knowledge.  We  generally  see  that  where 
there  is  a  lack  of  knowledge,  there  true  and  sincere  piety  does 
not  flourish  at  all.  But  I  call  knowledge  true,  according  as  it 
lies  near  or  is  like  the  truth.  For  crude  and  false  conjectures 
laid  down  as  the  foundations  of  knowledge  may  do  injury  to 
piety  ;  to  this  class  belongs  the  opinion  of  the  Epicureans, 
that  pleasure  is  the  highest  good  of  man  ;  then,  concerning 
our  mind  and  concerning  the  gods,  affirmations  as  impious  as 
they  are  senseless,  have  been  made  by  Epicurus  and  by  others. 
These  are  all  impostures  of  evil  spirits  which  I  have  just  re- 
moved from  the  rank  of  branches  of  knowledge.  The  goal 
of  knowledge  is  sometimes  harmful  to  piety,  e.g.  in  arts  which 
War  aim  at  injuring  men,  of  which  kind  are  philtra- 

wrongfui.  tions,  incantations,  and  that  part  of  the  military 

art  which  belongs  to  the  attacking  and  slaughtering  of  men ; 
and  the  whole  class  of  war  machines,  and  also  other  arts  which 
are  bad  because  they  are  maleficent^  Now,  when  we  learn  for 
the  purpose  of  injuring,  our  ends  are  impious. 

And  those  ends  which  we  seek  for  the  sake  of  ostentation, 
cannot  but  lessen  our  virtue ;  and  to  this  class  all  arts  may 
belong,  but  necessarily  sophistry,  since  it  cannot  be  set  forth 
except  for  some  vain  display  or  caprice.  'Also  a  curious  delight 
in  examining  that  which  is  of  no  use  for  life,  effects  nothing 
for  piety.  Paul,  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  does  not  suffer 
us  to  be  led  away  by  curious  arts ;  and  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles',  many  of  tliose  who  followed  arts  which  were  not 
evil  or  impious,  but  only  curious,  being  persuaded  by  that 
same  Apostle,  publicly  burnt  their  books,  the  price  of  which 
was  a  sum  not  to  be  despised.  To  this  class  belong  jugglers' 
tricks,  alchemy,  transmutation  of  metals,  divinations  and  other 
impostures.  These  things,  indeed,  through  all  the  senses,  bring 
shameful  pleasures  to  the  body,  but  inflict  a  great  blow  on 
piety ;  they  absorb  the  whole  strength  from  the  mind,  to  the 
'  See  Horace,  Odes,  I,  xxvii.  ^  Acts  xix.  19. 


32  Educational  Origins  [book  i 

body,  and  compel  it  to  become  brutish,  so  that  from  the  first 
it  can  only  uplift  itself  and  think  about  God  with  difficulty, 
and  soon  cannot  even  do  that. 

It   is   dangerous    to    learn    from   one   whose   words    and 
companionship    send    us    away   worse    than    we 

Those  from  ,  ,        ,  ,  , 

whom  we  Came,   and   so   mucli   the   more  when   the   cor- 

mustnot  ruption  of  our  nature  makes  us  inclined  to  his 

learn.  ' 

persuasion.  But  it  is  impious  to  learn  anything 
from  an  evil  spirit,  with  whom  God  wishes  us  to  have  no 
communion  :  in  fact,  his  cunning  and  artful  ways,  which  are 
many  and  multifariou.s,  are  all  planned  to  deceive  us  and  turn 
us  away  from  that  good  for  which  we  were  created.  Of  this 
^  .,  class  are  arts  taught  or  invented  by  a  demon  : 

Evil  compact:  °  ,         _ 

concealed  or  they  have  in  them  some  abommation  either 
expressed.  open  or  Concealed,   which  will   not   be  absent 

from  those  who  practise  them,  as  e.g.  in  most  oracles,  divina- 
tions by  lots,  prophecies,  to  which  the  human  mind,  eager  to 
know  abstruse  or  future  events,  easily  listens \ 

In  the  manner  of  learning  or  practising  arts,  we  must 
The  manner  of  Strongly  condemn  any  relaxation  of  piety  either 
learning  arts.  wholly  or  in  part,  through  absorption  in  the 
study  of  human  arts,  nor  should  that  time  be  given  to  them, 
which  we  need  to  finish  our  journey  to  a  happy  immortality. 
When  we  are  attacked  by  physical  disease,  even  as  soon  as  we 
observe  its  approach,  not  only  have  the  exercises  of  learning 
to  be  discarded,  but  also  the  peremptory  functions  of  life,  at 
home  and  in  the  state. 

Besides  all  these  considerations,  the  issues  of  the  study  of 
an  art  ouii-ht  not  to  be  neglected.     Of  course  in 

The  effects  of  ^  ... 

the  study  of  many  cases,  ai  ts  and  erudition  hinder  the  progress 
^^^'  of  religion;  e.g.  in  the  inquiry  into  the  nature  of 

things,  and  of  abstruse  things  which  are  either  hidden  in  secret 
places   or  are  involved  in   the    future,   which    the    Lord    has 
reserved  for  Himself  alone,  so  that  He  did  not  think  fit  to 
1  See  S.  Augustine,  de  Civitate  Dei,  VIli,  102 1. 


CHAP,  iv]         God  02ir  Highest  Good  ^-iy 

reveal  them  to  the  Apostles^  but  forbade  them  to  search  into 
the  times  and  seasons  which  the  Father  had  put  in  His  own 
power,  for  men  have  been  wont  to  transfer  their  trust  in  God 
to  the  things  which  He  has  made.  There  are  some  things 
which  almost  always  increase  vice,  and  detract  from  virtues, 
e.g.  disputations,  quarrelsome,  contentious  books,  in  which  the 
intellect  arms  itself  against  truth,  and  by  an  impious  affectation 
of  commendation  of  the  truth  prefers  to  hide  the  truth,  rather 
than  to  yield  to  it. 

To  the  same  class  belong  books  which  praise  vices,  such  as 
cruelty,  war,  love  of  money,  tyranny,  fraud.  But  of  licentious 
writings,  such  as  the  Milesian  Fables,  than  which  there  is 
nothing  more  silly  or  more  impure,  there  are  many  among 
the  poets ;  very  many  in  alluring  popular  songs,  and  in  books 
written  in  the  vulgar  tongues.  And  all  these  things  are  judged 
by  each  person  according  to  his  own  intellect;  for  some  things 
suit  some  minds,  and  some  things  others,  just  as  certain  foods 
suit  certain  palates  and  stomachs.  For  there  is  no  knowledge 
so  good  that  we  cannot  corrupt  it,  just  as  there  is  no  food  so 
healthy  that  it  cannot  become  unhealthy,  if  it  gets  infected 
with  disease.  But  although  there  is  no  learning  and  skill 
which  is  not  of  itself  of  service  to  piety,  yet  this  is  not  the 
only  thing  to  be  considered ;  it  must  also  be  of  use  to  us ; 
since  we  do  not  learn  arts  and  sciences  for  their  own  sakes,  but 
for  our  good.  All  things  in  this  world  as  they  were  made  by 
^     ,  God,  are  good  and  beautiful.     But  these  good 

Goodness:  .  . 

(i)  absolute,  things  are  not  all  to  be  appropriated  by  every- 
(2)  re  ative.  body.  They  are  indeed  all  good  in  themselves, 
but  we  cannot  each  of  us  have  all  that  is  good.  So,  in  learning 
and  in  all  kinds  of  knowledge  we  must  make  a  choice. 

Different  subjects  of  study  require,  in  each  case,  a  distinct 
type  of  natural  mental  ability  for  its  successful  pursuance. 
It  is   possible,   however,   to  obtain   a  judgment  as  to  which 

1  Acts  i.  7. 


34  Educational  Origins  [book  i 

studies  a  particular  person  would  wisely  refrain  from  under- 
taking. Just  as  a  skilful  medical  man  can  pronounce  with 
regard  to  the  bodies  of  men  after  he  has  had  them  under 
his  examination,  so  the  man  of  practical  wisdom  {vir  prudens) 
can  form  a  judgment  as  to  the  special  excellencies  of  mind, 
judgment  and  learning  of  a  particular  person,  if  he  be  called 
in,  to  act  in  this  so  important  a  function. 

Now  we  will  show  what  arts  are  suitable  for  Christians, 
Arts  suitable  ^i^d  Constitute  the  sure  guardianship  of  their 
for  Christians,  piety.  For  this  (piety)  as  we  have  often  said 
(and  it  needs  to  be  often  repeated)  ought  to  receive  the 
first  close  observation,  and  the  keen  attention  of  the  mind 
should  never  be  removed  from  it.  If  anyone,  either  at  the 
very  beginning  of  life  when  he  was  shaped  by  Nature,  or 
afterwards  through  some  most  bountiful  gift  or  favour  from 
God,  should  devote  himself  to  religion,  so  great  would  be  the 
outstanding  excellence  of  mind  bestowed  upon  him,  that  he 
would  rise  upward  to  that  height  of  divine  sublimity  in  which 
he  would  repose  as  in  his  most  happy  and  natural  home. 
And  then,  having  despised  and  disdained  all  human  things, 
he  would  become  as  it  were  an  inhabitant  of  that  inaccessible 
light,  in  which  that  holy  and  all-powerful  Being  dwells.  Hence 
it  would  happen  that  man,  having  attained  a  higher  than  human 
fate,  would  spend  in  this  body  a  life  more  angelic  than  human; 
he  would  have  no  need  of  arts  or  any  knowledge  ;  no  want 
would  threaten  him ;  nothing  would  terrify  one  who  was 
superior  to  all  misfortunes  or  need.  We  see  that  such  as 
have,  to  a  certain  extent,  attained  to  this  perfection  of  life, 
were  those  who,  in  solitude  and  remote  regions,  spent  a  life 
apart  from  human  intercourse,  made  pleasant  and  sweet  by 
communion  and  conversations  with  angels  j  men  like  Paul 
and  Antony,  and  the  two  named  Hilary  who,  despising  their 
own  bodies  as  if  they  were  things  external  to  themselves,  always 
adhered  and  clung  to  Him  with  Whom  they  were  going  to 
spend  an  infinite  eternity.     But  these  were  very  few,  selected 


CHAP,  iv]         God  ojir  Highest  Good  35 

by  the  great  favour  of  God,  on  account  of  their  very  high,  and 
clearly  godly  character. 

But  the  rest,  to  whom  it  is  not  given  to  aspire  to  such 
Idleness  is  to  g^^^^  happincss,  when  they  cast  down  their 
be  shunned.  Qyts  from  that  Sublime  view,  ought  not  to 
betake  themselves  to  the  torpor  of  ease,  so  as  to  do  abso- 
lutely nothing.  The  Lord,  at  the  beginning  of  the  world, 
sentenced  the  sons  of  Adam  to  labour^  ;  in  accordance  with 
this  judgment  Paul  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Church  at  Thes- 
salonica"^  writes  :  "  If  a  man  will  not  work,  neither  shall  he 
eat."  Solomon^  by  the  example  of  the  ant  stimulates  the 
lazy  to  work:  and  David^  says  that  "he  is  happy  who  eats 
bread  which  he  has  procured  by  the  kbour  of  his  hands." 
Our  Lord,  in  his  GospeP,  does  not  do  away  with  work,  but 
with  anxious  care  about  results,  which  is  fxepLfxvdv.  Therefore 
it  does  not  become  anyone  in  the  Church  to  live  in  ease  and 
idleness.  For  even  those  holy  hermits,  when  sometime  in 
the  day  they  relaxed  the  ardour  of  contemplation,  exercised 
themselves  in  various  works,  sometimes  of  the  hands,  and 
sometimes  of  the  mind. 

But  what  then  should  these  arts  and  sciences  be?  What 
other  than   those  which   are  necessary  for   the 

■What  the  .  ^      .  ,  ,  .  ,  ,     ,-r  rr^i 

Christian  auiis   of  Cither  this   or  the  eternal  life.      1  hey 

arts  are  ^^.-jj   gjj.j^gj.  advance   piety  or  be  of  service  to 

the  necessities,  or  at  least  the  uses  of  life,  for  the  latter  are 
not  greatly  different  from  the  necessities.  By  piety  I  under- 
stand either  our  own  personal  piety  or  that  of  others.  So  by 
"necessities,"  I  mean  our  own  and  those  of  others.    So  marked 

is  the  shortness  of  time  determined  to  each  one, 
which  l^'r'e"^^  and  in  this  shortness  of  time,  so  quick  is  the 
useful  are  to        flight  of  life,  and  those  things  of  which  we  have 

need  for  the  cultivation  of  mind  and  body,  for 

'  Genesis  iii.  -  2  Thess.  iii.  8,  9,  10. 

■*  Proverbs  vi.  6.  ■*  Psalm  cxxviii.  2. 

^  S.  Matthew  vi.  34. 


be  studied. 


36  Educational  Origins  [book  i 

our  sustenance,  or  that  of  others,  all  those  things  are  so 
numerous  and  varied,  that  it  would  be  the  iieight  of  madness, 
to  reduce  in  any  degree  the  short  allowance  of  time,  by  spend- 
ing it  on  what  is  superfluous.  For  useful  undertakings  we  have 
not  time  enough,  how  then  can  there  be  a  superfluity  of  time 
which  anyone  can  afford  to  lose?  For  the  necessities  of  the 
body  there  comes  to  man's  helj)  the  study  of  foods,  medicine, 
clothing,  dwelling.  Ivnow ledge  founded  on  experience  i^ 
necessary  to  determine  in  what  manner  these  means  should  ^ 
be  secured  and  preserved,  as  also  is  the  knowledge  in  what  it 
is  each  of  these  has  its  value.  The  soul  is  nourished  and  made 
pure  by  that  which  brings  light  or  zeal  to  it,  so  that  it  may  know 
how  to  pursue  what  should  be  desired  in  life,  or  to  escape  what 
ought  to  be  avoided.  To  this  end  we  must  partly  learn  and 
accept  what  has  been  handed  down  to  us,  and  partly  think  it 
out  for  ourselves  and  learn  it  l)y  practising  it.  For  God  has 
given  our  soul  one  power,  the  intellect;  and  our  body  another 
power,  in  the  hands.  With  these  two  powers,  we  surpass  all 
other  living  creatures.  For  as  our  intellect  raises  us  high  above 
the  souls  of  beasts,  so  also  our  body  excels  that  of  beasts, 
through  the  uses  to  which  we  can  put  our  hands \  But  as  to 
what  the  hands  can  accomplish  there  will  be  elsewhere  a 
further  opportunity  of  showing.  Now  let  us  speak  as  to  the 
activities  of  the  mind. 

^  Cf.  Aristotle,  de  Auima,  ill  rj  x^'-P  Hpyavov  icrrip  opydvwv. 


d'y 


\^ 


CHAPTER   V  r^^b^y^ 


DIVISIONS    OF    KNOWLEDGE 

Concerning  the  twofold  power  of  the  mind,  and  whatsoever  is  dealt  with  in 
either  of  the  two  orders.  Then  as  to  human  society,  whence  and  how 
it  is  derived,  by  what  it  is  preserved  and  by  what,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  is  undermined.  Lastly  the  fit  and  exact  divisions  of  different  kinds 
of  knowledge.  Variety  of  man's  powers  and  activities.  Knowledge 
and  its  divisions. 

In  the  mind  there  are  especially  two  functions,  the  power 
Divisions  of  of_observing,  which  is  said  to  be  the  eye  of 
all  the  arts.  ^\^q    mind,    or    its    acumen,    and    the    power    of 

judging  and  determining  with  regard  to  those  things  which 
the  mind  has  seen.  The  former  is  concerned  merely  with 
observation  but  the  latter  has  regard  to  men's  actions.  The 
human  mind  ranges  over  the  heavens,  elements,  stones,  metals, 
.plants,  animals,  man  ;  the  last  named  it  regards  not  merely  in 
a  single  relation,  but  it  investigates  man's  mind  and  body  and 
those  things  which  happen  to  both  these,  in  their  permanent 
states,  and  in  their  vicissitudes  at  various  stages.  Then  the  mind 
passes  to  consider  human  inventions,  which  open  up  a  wide  tield 
for  observation.  Thence  it  goes  on  to  study  spiritual  things, 
and  eventually  is  led  to  the  supreme  and  all-powerful  God. 
All  these  subjects  as  far  as  human  ability  can  receive  them, 
^j^g  are  submitted  to  the  judgment.     The  judgment 

Judgment.  compares    one   thing  with    another   and    shows 

which  is  useful,  which  harmful,  which  indifferent  to  the  body ; 
in  matters  of  food,  clothing,  health,  dwelling,  what  things  are 


3^  Educational  Origins  [book  i 

adapted  to  our  necessities,  conveniences,  resources ;  in  what 
manner  they  should  he  prepared,  preserved,  and  put  to  use. 
Similarly  the  judgment  provides  for  the  soul  and  advises  what 
things  are  helpful  and  what  harmful  to  the  development  and 
illumination  of  the  mind,  whence  it  may  issue  better  or  worse 
by  those  means  which  we  have,  earlier,  described  as  necessary 
to  be  ])repared,  preserved  and  used.  We  men  are  born  for 
g^^jgj  society,  and  cannot  Hve  thoroughly  without  it'. 

Man  is  a  Nature  has  wisely  made  provision  for  this,  both 

political  so  that  the  arrogance  of  the  haughtiest  animal 

should  be  repressed  when  he  sees  that  he  has 
need  of  so  many  things,  and  also  when  he  recognises  the 
necessity  for  the  winning  of  mutual  love,  which  increases  by 
intercourse  and  exchange  of  thoughts.  This  takes  place  so 
much  the  more  easily  and  thoroughly,  as  there  is  less  arrogance. 
For  arrogance  is  the  destroyer  of  the  whole  of  the  bond  of  human 
harmony.  Goodness  is  the  bond  of  society;  its  guide  is  the 
sound  judgment,  in  which  are  to  be  found  practical  wisdom  and 
wise  leading  of  the  whole  life.  Practical  wisdom  is  increased 
by  experience,  which  is  supported  by  the  memory,  for  the 
knowledge  of  many  and  great  things  would  be  less  useful,  if 
there  were  not  something  which  preserved  them  and  produced 
them  before  the  mind  for  use,  just  at  the  time  of  need.  Ex- 
perience is  either  our  own  individually,  or  that  obtained  by 
others,  which  may  serve  to  warn  us,  by  the  example  of  actual 
past  occurrences,  or  it  may  be  in  the  form  of  supposed  occur- 
rences such  as  are  contained  in  histories,  fables. 

History.  .  ,..,.,  t>   •    n 

stones,  and  similitudes.  Briefly,  experience  may 
be  gained  from  all  accounts  of  those  things  which  are  handed 
down  as  having  been  said  or  done,  or,  again,  from  those  writings 
which  have  been  composed  and  are  suited  to  instruct  men 
in  wisdom.  So,  too,  with  adages  and  sentences,  in  a  word, 
all  those  precepts  of  wisdom  which  have  been  collected  from 
the  observations  of  the  wise,  which  have  remained  amongst 
^  Aristotle,  Politics,  I,  ^. 


CHAP,  v]         Divisions  of  Knozvledge  39 

the  people,  as  if  they  were  pubHc  wealth  in  a  common  store- 
house. 

For  the  exercise  of  the   social   instinct,  speech  has  been 
given  to  men,  how  otherwise  could  society  exist, 
^^^'^  '  since  our  minds  are  hidden  away  in  so  dense  a 

body  ?  How  completely  dead  and  torpid  would  the  mind  be 
if  it  only  found  expression  in  the  look  of  the  eyes,  if  we  could 
only  express  our  manifold  thoughts  by  mute  nods  !  This  would 
not  be  expressing  ourselves,  but  rather  kindling  in  others  a 
desire  to  understand  our  thoughts,  as  we  see  happens  with 
those  who  do  not  understand  one  another's  speech.  Amongst 
people  absent  from  one  another,  writing  takes  the  place  of 
Letter-  Speech  whether  they  be  separated  by  distance  of 

writing.  place  or  time.     This  is  a  great  aid  to  memory 

and  a  faithful  witness  of  past  events.  In  speech  are  two  arts, 
Division  of  the  first  that  of  practical  necessity,  a  use  which 

^'^'^-  depends  on  its  effectiveness  for  the  intelligence 

rather  than  for  polish  and  brilliancy ;  the  other  art  of  speech 
serves  rather  for  pleasure  and  delight.  In  the  latter  is  to  be 
studied  all  elegance,  polish  and  splendour  of  diction.  To  this 
is  to  be  added  the  adaptation  of  appropriate  style  of  treatment 
to  things,  places,  times,  persons.    This  art  arises 

Rhetoric.  ,  ^  '   V       ,       .     ,  ,   •  ,,     ,     , 

out  of  practical  wisdom  and  is  called  rhetoric. 

TiUt  because  uncurbed  minds  not  infrequently  rush  forward 

to  the  hurt  of  others,  laws  were  instituted  \  and 

the  limitation  of  rights  promulgated,  i.e.  barriers 

were  imposed  on  all  license,  when  it  was  not  restrained  by  the 

reason  which  was  so  near  at  hand.     Certain  instruments,  so  to 

say,  also  were  sought  for,  with  which  we  should  be  more  easily 

and  pleasantly  led  to  the  paths  of  reason.     For  the  examining 

of  masses  and  magnitudes ;   for  moving  them  into  a  particular 

place,  or  establishing  and  fixing  them  where  there  was  need, 

an  art  was  thought  out  which  is  called  geometry;  for  counting 

by  numbers,  an  art  in  which  no  part  of  hfe  lacks  instances, 

1  Aristotle,  Politics,  i,  2. 


40  Educational  Origins  [book  i 

arithmetic  was  devised.  In  ihe  close  investigation  of  truth, 
which  has  become  so  obscured  to  us,  the  judgment  is 
advanced  by  a  canon  of  probabihty ;  in  forming  an  opinion 
which  is  based  on  conjecture,  tlie  instrument  of  dialectic 
is  useful.  It  is  called  an  examination  as  to  the  true  {cetisura 
veri).  To  all  these  arts  is  to  be  added  Music,  as  a  relaxa- 
tion and  recreation  of  the  mind,  through  the  harmony  of 
sounds.  Under  this  head,  comes  all  poetry,  which  consists 
in  the  harmony  of  numbers.  Prose  oratory,  however,  has  its 
rhythms,  though  they  are  not  fixed  !)y  definite  and  constant  law, 
like  poetry.     These  matters  have  been  thought 

The  acumen  r  j  ^  >-^ 

of  human  out  in  the  human  mind  by  industry,  in  accordance 

"^^"'■e-  with  the  mind  received  from  the  great  Artificer 

God,  the  gift  we  receive  through  Nature.  This  special  favour 
bestowed  by  God,  surpasses  all  others  which  can  be  compared 
The  natural  '^\'Ci\  it.  But  since  God  has  not  allowed  us  on 
light  of  the  account  of  the  magnitude  of  our  sins,  to  have  this 

mind  must  .  . 

be  increased  imparted  as  a  gift,  for  all  the  details  of  experience, 
by  diligence.  ^^^  have  to  apply  diligence  so  as  to  seek  out 
what  is  useful,  whilst  we  are  lighted  by  that  Lamp,  which  He 
has  bequeathed  to  the  human  race.  These  are  therefore  the 
material  and  boundaries  of  those  subjects  of  knowledge,  which 
are  not  inconsistent  with  piety,  and  are  of  deep  advantage  to 
the  body.  Not  only  are  they  of  great  service  to  the  body,  but 
also  many  of  them  serve  the  cause  of  piety  most  thoroughly 
by  the  cultivation  of  the  mind.  These  sciences,  or  if  anyone 
prefers  the  name,  branches  of  knowledge  {cognitiones\  can  be 
divided  from  more  points  of  view  than  can  be  here  explained; 
according  as  it  seems  necessary  to  fix  ends  and  aims,  so  the 
ground  of  division  is  changed.  For  some  which  are  separated 
from  one  another  can  be  joined,  and  vice-versa.  So  that  if 
anyone  makes  Nature,  one  general  science  and  kind  of  know- 
ledge, this  science  can  further  be  divided  into  the  observation 
of  plants  and  animals,  and  from  plants  into  herbs,  fruits, 
trees. 


CHAP,  v]         Divisions  of  Knowledge  41 

Our  division,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  for  the  convenience 
of  students  should  be  as  follows  :  those  things 

Another  divi-  .  r  i  •  i    i  i     i         ■ 

sionofarts.  which  serve  for  observation  and  knowledge  m- 
Observation  of    volve  first  the  cxercise  of  sight  on  the  external 

^  ^^^'  face  of  Nature,  which   means,  clearly,  the  use 

of  the  senses,  like  as,  for  instance,  we  gaze  at  a  picture,  and 
just  in  the  same  way  as  we  look  at  a  map  on  which  cities, 
peoples,  mountains,  rivers  are  placed  before  the  eyes.  This 
is  called  inspection  (aspectus)  or  reflection  (contemplatid)  and 
he  who  is  skilled  in  it  is  called  aspector,  or  cojitemplator. 
Let  the  keenness  of  sight  of  the  mind  descend  from  its 
height  to  the  intimate  working  of  Nature  which  is  concerned 
with  the  inner  essence  of  everything.  For  in  this  study  an 
entrance  is  found  to  the  essential  heart  of  things  more  readily 
by  the  mind  than  by  the  eye,  although  observation  begins 
through  the  eye.  The  man  who  thus  penetrates  with  his 
mind  into  Nature  is  the  first  or  intimate  philosopher  {primus 
Pirst  philosophus,  seu  intimus)  and  his  knowledge  is 

philosophy.  u  ^j.gj.   philosophy  "  or  knowledge  of  the  inner- 

most work  of  Nature  {prima  philosophia  vel  ititiinum  Naturae 
opificiiini).  From  both  mind  and  eyes,  the  wise  man  seeks  for 
Scrutinising  the  outward  causes  which  lie  near  to  the  eyes 
of  Nature.  ^ud    the   Other   senses.     This   kind    of  skill    is 

called  scrutatio  or  iiivestigatio.  The  one  who  is  skilled  in  it  is 
called  a  scrutator  or  investigator.  Afterwards  let  him  proceed 
to  those  studies  which  escape  every  observation  of  the  senses. 
For  it  is  by  thought  alone  that  what  we  call  spiritual  questions 
{res  spiritales)  are  investigated  and  this  branch 

"^'^  '         of  study  is  called  spirita/itas^  and  its  students 

spiritales.  From  all  these  subjects  is  collected  a  far-reaching 
and  comprehensive  description  of  subjects,  in  which  not  only 
are  appearances  noted,  but  also  the  causes  themselves.  This 
is  accomplished  more  by  unravelling  {explicando)  than  by  mere 
Natural  observation   {inguirendo).      The   latter   study  is 

History.  called   Natural    History  {historia  Naturae)   and 


42  Educational  Origins  [book  i 

the    man    versed    in    it    is    termed    a    Historicus.      Reflexion 

{conkmplatio)  must  succeed  to  actual  sense  experience.     This 

study  will  prescribe  e.g.  what  foods  should  be  brought  on  to  the 

table,  what  not.     This  is  called  by  the  Greeks, 

Dietetics.  .  .  .  ■' 

Dietetics,  and  he  who  studies  it  is  called  a 
Dietdicits.  You  may  if  you  wish  use  other  names  such  as  vesats, 
esn\ri^a/is.  Make  your  choice  of  names  if  only  you  let  the 
study  of  things  themselves  remain.     Then  for  tiie  establishment 

and  maintenance  of  health,  we  have  Medicine. 

Medicine.  .  .  . 

After  Hippocrates,  Dietetics  became  a  part  of 
Medicine  and  led  to  the  institution  of  physicians.  Now  we 
have  surveyed  sufficiently  the  interests  of  the  body,  and  we 
must  pass  to  those  of  the  mind  and  to  tlie  ordinary  relations 
of  men  with  one  another. 

Included  in  this  subject-matter  are  precepts  such  as  every 
man  ought  to  have  properly  established  and  fixed  in  his  mind. 

This  art  of  morals  is  called  ethics  and  he  who 

Ethics. 

professes  it  is  an  ethicus  or  moralist.  Some 
precepts  teach  how  a  man  should  bear  himself  in  his  private 
relations  at  home ;  others,  how  he  should  conduct  himself  in 
Economics.  piiblic  relations,  in  the  state.  The  former  are 
Politics.  called     Economics,     the    latter     Politics,    from 

which  the  students,  respectively,  are  termed  Economists  and 
Politicians.  The  words  are  Greek  and  were  not  unknown 
amongst  the  Romans,  as  borrowed  words.  For  our  speech, 
there  are  rules   which   have  for   their   aim  correct  expression. 

These    rules    constitute    the    art    of    Grammar. 

Grammar. 

Other  rules  are  adapted  to  the  needs  of  discourse 

suitable   for   various   persons,    times,   places.     This   subject   is 

called    Rhetoric.     The    careful    investigation    of 

Rhetoric.  ° 

the  contents  and  style  of  ancient  authors  and  the 

diligent  observation  and  annotation  of  them,  a  subject  properly 

joined  with  grammatical  study, is  termed  Philology 

°^^'  and  the  student  of  this  subject  is  a  Philologist. 

Practical  experience  in  life,  gained  through   the   examples  of 


CHAP,  v]         Divisions  of  Knowledge  43 

our  ancestors,  together  with  the  knowledge  of  present-day 
affairs  makes  a  man,  as  the  Greeks  name  him,  a  Polyhistor  as 
much  as  to  say  multiscius  (a  many-sided  man).  Such  a  man, 
however,  we,  following  a  better  nomenclature,  term  a  man 
Practical  °^  practical  wisdom  {prudens)  and  his  province 

Wisdom  or  we    Call    practical    wisdom    {prudentia).      Then 

o  y  IS  ona.        follow    sciences    which     are     useful     to     other 
Geometry,  branches  of  knowledge :    geometry,   arithmetic, 

Arithmetic.  ,  ^       ,  •    ,  ,,     ,  -    •  ! 

students  of  which  are  called  geometricians  and 
Exposition  of       arithmeticians.     He  who  is  concerned  with  the 

discovery  of  the  probable  is  called  an  Inventor, 
and  he  who  passes  judgment  on  what  has  been  discovered 
by  probability  is  called  a  critic  {censor).  The  musician 
The  Musician,  {musicus)  as  he  is  Called,  deals  with  Music; 
^°^*-  the    poet    ipoefa)   with    Poetry.     In   matters   of 

divinity  and  sacred  subjects  we  ponder  deeply  as  far  as  is 
permissible  to  mortal  men,  on  the  Nature  of  the  Holy  One,  or 
on  those  precepts  of  His,  which  lead  and  point  the  way  to 
Him.  He  who  is  skilled  in  the  first  of  these  studies  is  termed 
Theologian.  ^  theologian  (theologus) ;  and  he  who  studies  the 
Theonomist.  second  is  Called  a  Theonomiis.  We  will  treat  on 
both  of  these  subjects  elsewhere.  We  will  now  only  say  as 
to  these  subjects  mentioned  above,  how  we  think  they  ought 
to  be  taught  and  learned  one  by  one. 


F.  w. 


CHAPTER   VI 

CHOICE   OF    BOOKS 

In  so  great  an  abundance  of  books,  which  should  be  read  in  class,  and 
which  by  private  reading.  Then  the  author  offers  to  estimate  the 
especial  value  of  each,  but  he  does  this  rather  to  incite  others  to  the 
same  labour,  than  because  he  hopes  to  be  able  to  carry  out  the  plan 
fully  himself.  Should  the  books  of  the  heathen  be  read  ?  Books  and 
their  place  in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge. 

To  books  we  must  refer  for  knowledge  in  every  subject. 

For  without  them,  who  could  hope  that  he  would 

attain  the  knowledge  of  the  greater  things  ?   The 

direct  inspiration  of  God  teaches  only  very  few,  and  to  those 

whom  He  teaches,  He  merely  gives  what  is  serviceable  and 

necessary  to  their  own  eternal  welfare.    Certainly 

Learning :  ■'  ^ 

(i)  Extra-  only  very  rarely,  do  men  show  themselves  worthy 

inary,  ^^^  .^  Suited  to  reccive,  so  great  a  favour  from 

God,  and  it  is  not   fitting  that  the  teaching  of  the  Divine 

Master  should  stoop  to  the  manifestation  of  activity  amongst 

the  unsuited.     Therefore  the   man   desirous  of 

wisdom  must  make  use  of  books,  or  of  those 

men  who  take  the  place  of  books,  viz.  teachers,  otherwise  there 

only   remains   for   him    to    talk   foolishly.     As   in    everything 

connected  with  observation  there  are  no  limits,  for  there  is 

nothing  so   manifest  to  the  senses  that  it  would  not  require 

many  minds  to  be  most  lavishly  exercised  for  a  very  long  time, 

for  a  complete  record,  so  we   find    books    have   increased  to 

such  uncountable  numbers.     Some  writers  publish  what  they 


CHAP,  vi]  Choice  of  Books  45 

themselves  have  written;  others  limit  themselves  to  compilations 
„.  ,  from  other  writers.     So  much  is  this   so,  that, 

The  great 

multitude  of  now,  a  man's  Hfe  would  not  suffice,  I  do  not 
deti'r^men^*  say  for  the  reading  what  has  been  written  on 
from  study.  many  arts  and  sciences,  but  on  any  one  of  them — 

let  alone  the  time  for  understanding  them.  Seneca  remarks 
that  Cicero  maintains  that  if  his  own  life  were  doubled  in  length, 
time  would  not  suffice  for  him  to  accomplish  the  reading  of  all 
the  poems  of  the  lyric  bards.  But  if  everything  written  by 
those  old  philosophers,  historians,  orators,  poets,  physicians, 
theologians,  had  reached  this  age,  then  we  could  put  nothing 
but  books  in  our  houses  ;  we  should  have  to  sit  on  books ;  we 
should  have  to  walk  on  the  top  of  books;  our  eyes  would  have 
to  glance  over  nothing  but  books.  Even  now  there  is  a  terror 
fallen  upon  not  a  few  people,  and  a  hatred  of  study,  when  they 
find  offered  them  in  any  subject  of  study  the  volumes  which 
will  need  indefatigable  industry  to  master.  They  instantly 
depress  the  minds  of  those  who  look  at  them,  and  the  wretches 
moan  inwardly,  and  ask  :  Who  can  read  all  these  ? 

There  must,  therefore,  in  every  science  and  art  be  appointed 
Certain  books  sct  books  which  must  be  read  and  explained 
must  be  read.  \^  j^g  schools,  and  Others  to  be  read  privately,  so 
that  the  course  of  life,  so  short  and  fleeting,  may  not  be  con- 
sumed in  what  is  superfluous,  and  (as  also  is  not  infrequently 
the  case)  in  the  positively  harmful ;  and  so  that  life  may  not 
flee  away  before  it  has  come  to  the  bearing  of  fruit.  He  who 
would  thus  settle  the  choice  of  books,  supported  by  a  great 
knowledge  and  discriminating  judgment  would,  in  my  opinion, 
truly  confer  a  great  benefit  upon  the  whole  race  of  mankind. 
But  such  an  one  must  not  be  satisfied  with  merely  making  a 
note  of  the  worth  of  the  books,  but  he  should  also  indicate  the 
passages  in  the  books  where  topics  one  by  one  should  be 
sought.  This  task  I  will,  to  some  extent,  attempt  to  perform  ; 
with  what  success  I  shall  not  greatly  distress  myself,  at  any 
rate  I  shall  manifest  the  strong  desire  to  stir  up  many  others, 


46  Educational  Origins  [book  i 

especially  those  who  will  be  fnr  better  able  than  myself  more 
comprehensively  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  race  of  students, 
either  because  they  are  gifted  with  greater  mental  energy,  or 
because  they  are  equipped  with  a  richer  knowledge  of  things. 
I  shall  not  be  envious  of  the  gifts  of  any  man,  who  may  confer 
either  this  or  any  other  good  on  the  human  race,  and  it  will  be 
very  pleasant  to  me  to  be  pushed  back  into  the  last  place,  or 
even  into  no  place,  in  the  commonwealth  of  letters,  if  I  may  only 
see  the  progress  of  human  wisdom,  a  wisdom  which  our  mortal 
race  needs  in  this  our  age,  if  never  before,  sunk  as  it  is  in 
the  depths  of  shame  and  crime.  It  cannot  be  expected  that 
I  should  be  able  to  treat  of  all  writers  worthy  to  be  read.  It 
would  be  an  almost  insuperably  difficult  task  for  me,  not  so 
much  because  of  the  crowd,  as  because  of  my  ignorance  and 
forgetfulness.  The  liberty  I  take  in  making  any  attempt  to 
do  it  you  will  excuse  in  me,  when  you  remember  that  the 
undertaking  has  particular  reference  to  rendering  studies  useful, 
and  at  least  my  opinion  must  not  be  estimated  at  so  great 
a  value  that  it  is  to  be  regarded  as  sufficient  for  removing  any 
author  even  of  the  lowest  class  from  his  recognised  position, 
much  less  for  degrading  an  author  of  the  highest  rank. 

1   will   speak   of   the   sciences   one   by   one,   and   in    what 
manner,  as  it  seems  to  me,  they  should  be  taught, 
study  the  a^^id  will  mention  what  I  think  has  been  well  and 

"^^*^"'  usefully  written  on  them  by  various  writers. 

sciences.  ■; 

Before  everythmg,  we  must  remember  that 
the  needs  of  hfe  are  varied  and  numerous,  since  they  pass  by 
in  single  moments,  one  need  arising  out  of  another,  so  that  if 
we  rightly  spend  our  time,  there  is  no  moment  remains  over  for 
trifling,  and  all  branches  of  knowledge  must  be  applied,  not  to 
any  empty  dilettantism  but  to  the  practice  of  life.  Galen '  says 
rightly  that  those  sciences  which  bring  no  usefulness  to  life 
have  no  claim  to  the  name.  Wherefore  although  the  aim  of 
some  sciences,  as  I  have  shown  above,  is  observation,  yet  this 

'   Oratio  snasoria  ad  artes,  chap.  vi. 


CHAP,  vi]  Choice  of  Books  47 

must  not  be  the  student's  end,  but  must  lead  to  some  further 
practical  issue.  If  there  is  no  other  aim  pro- 
art^ndofthe  posed  .to  a  science  (than  that  of  observation)  it 
student  of  the  jg  certainly  fitting  that  the  learner  should  have 
one  himself.  The  observation  of  Nature  is  so 
immense,  so  unlimited,  that  if  anyone  steeps  himself  in  it, 
he  will  not  attain  what  he  desires,  and  will  lose  the  whole 
fruit  of  his  life's  labour,  unless  he  applies  the  knowledge 
^^        ^     ^       which  he  has  acquired  in  his  studies  either  to 

The  study  of  ^ 

arts  should  the  uses  of  life,  or  to  the  admiration  and  worship 

o  pie  y.  ^^  j^j^  Creator.  Nay,  even  the  contemplation  of 
God,  than  which  nothing  can  be  termed  more  wonderful,  more 
comprehensive,  or  more  excellent,  should  be  turned  to  some 
use,  so  that  we  may  be  inflamed,  and  seized  by  it  and  absorbed 
by  it.  Let  me  give  a  warning,  now,  at  the  threshold,  since 
Arts  should  human  sinfulness  has  matured  all  over  the  world, 
lead  Christians     and  the  depraved   affections  of  the  soul  have 

back  to  the  . 

early  Christian  bccome  SO  Strong,  it  has  become  necessary  that 
knowledge.  ^^^  sciences  should  be  handed  on  more  purely, 

more  simply,  and  that  they  should  be  less  infected  and  imbued 
with  craft  and  impostures.  For  it  is  only  by  this  means  (as  far 
as  this  may  be  possible)  that  Christian  people  may  be  taken 
back  to  the  true  and  native  simplicity,  and  thus  all  branches  of 
knowledge  may  scatter  fewer  sparks  by  which  minds  are  inflamed 
wrongly — only  too  much  inclined  of  themselves,  to  great  and 
cruel  fires  of  passion.  Wickedness  is  too  much  heaped  up,  and 
the  judgment  sharpened  on  the  whetstone  of  depravity.  There 
is  no  need  of  greater  sharpness  of  criticism,  (but  rather  as  it 
were  of  some  blunting),  not  that  men  should  become  devoid  of 
practical  wisdom,  but  that  they  should  develope  more  sincerity 
and  simplicity,  and  for  that  very  reason,  become  wiser,  not  more 
astute.  Our  life  will  become  so  much  the  more  happy,  the 
less  it  is  stained  by  deceit  and  sophism,  the  more  like  it  becomes 
to  the  life  of  men  of  old,  whose  rectitude  and  simplicity  of 
mind  rendered  them  worthy  of  conversation  with  God.     Add 


48  Educational  Origins  [book  i 

to  this,  tluit  branches  of  knowledge  demonstrated  briefly  and 
purely,  aid  sharpness  of  wit,  judgment,  practical  wisdom,  and 
the  enjoyment  of  common  things,  whilst,  a  long  treatment  of 
these  subjects  dulls  mental  vigour  and  is  most  harmful.  On 
this  subject  it  is  said,  in  the  words  of  a  very  wise  man,  "  In 
much  wisdom  is  much  grief,  and  he  that  increaseth  knowledge, 
also  increaseth  sorrow." 

At  this  point  we  are  met  by  the  very  pertinent  question 
as  to   profane  literature,   e.g.  of  the  heathens, 
heathen  Agarenes\  Jews.     Should  these  writings  be  read, 

literature  qj-  should  they  be  entirely  rejected?     There  is, 

indeed,  in  them  much  wickedness  and  deceit  and 
a  great  deal  of  poison  for  those  who  are  inexperienced  and  for 
the  vicious.  It  is  a  somewhat  serious  question,  and  well  worthy 
of  careful  thought,  as  anyone  may  easily  imagine,  and  no  single 
solution  can  be  universally  pronounced.  I  have  previously 
taken  up  the  position  that  no  knowledge  of  things  can  be  a 
hindrance  to  piety.  The  right  reading  of  Gentile  (i.e.  heathen) 
works  did  no  harm  to  (amongst  the  Greeks)  Origen,  Justinus, 
Basihus,  Nanzianzenus,  Chrysostom,  and  amongst  the  pre- 
decessors of  our  faith,  no  harm  was  done  to  TertuUian, 
Cyprian,  Lactantius,  Jerome,  Ambrose,  Hilary,  Augustine, 
Gregory,  Isidore,  Thomas  (Aquinas).  Even  some  heathen 
writers  proved  of  great  use  to  them  as  the  Hortensius  of  Cicero 
to  Augustine'-.  Many  have  been  harmed  by  heathen  authors, 
e.g.  Lucianus,  the  Emperor  Julianus,  Domitius  Calderinus, 
Codrus  Urceus,  Pomponius  Laetus''.  Many  experience  in 
themselves  that  their  piety  was,  in  some  cases,  invigorated  by 
this  sort  of  literature,  in  other  cases,  it  has  been  weakened. 
These  books  therefore  must  be  regarded  as  a  great  field,  of  which 
one  part  is  useful,  and  another  hurtful ;  in  which  useful  herbs 
spring  up  in  one  place,  and  noxious  weeds  in  another ;  whilst 

1  i.e.  Arabs.  -  Augustine,  Confess.  Ill,  4. 

3  Vives,  de  Conscribendis  Epistolis,  near  the  end,  says  of  one  writer  : 
"He  abhorred  the  name  of  Peter  because  it  savoured  of  Christianity." 


CHAP,  vi]  Choice  of  Books  49 

in  a  third  part  the  field  is  planted  with  flowers,  which  serve  for 
pleasure   and  adornment.     They  contain  what 

Useful  books.         .  r   i  -ni  u  ^-  j     •  •         •    .. 

IS  useful.  Ihe  observation  and  inquiry  into 
natural  objects  promotes  the  serviceableness  of  food,  of  health, 
or  some  other  use  of  life.  They  contain  also  mathematical 
knowledge  which  is  of  service  in  so  many  directions.     Do  they 

not  contain  the  knowledge  of  antiquity  and  of 

Books  contain  ,,   ,  ^  i  i   j       j 

the  vigour  of  ^11  human  memory,  or  so  many  words  and  deeds, 
men's  minds        keenly,  scriously,  gaily,  and  piously  expressed, 

and  learning.  •'  .  ,  .  ,   .  , 

by  which  practical  wisdom  is  cultivated  and 
helped }  In  a  word,  they  contain  all  that  knowledge,  that 
encyclopaedia  which  leads  to  the  life  of  greatest  usefulness,  in 
which  what  has  been  observed  and  thought  has  been  diligently 
consigned  to  posterity. 

Hence  it  comes  to  pass  that  unlearned  men,  however 
intellectual  they  may  be  by  nature,  cannot  be  pervaded  by  so 
great  a  vigour  of  mind  as  those  who  are  of  average  intellectual 
power,  when  furnished  with  learning,  for  they  have  many 
others  to  help  them,  whereas  the  unlearned,  however  great 
their  untrained  intellects,  certainly  are  units,  and  stand  alone. 
Here  avail  the  instruments  of  truth,  of  discovery,  of  judgment, 
V  lu  of  which  help  us  towards  practical  wisdom.     The 

heathen  heathen,  moreover,  present  effective  judgments 

writers.  ^^  great  weight   against   vices,   and    praise   for 

virtues,  which  we  are  permitted  to  use  for  our  good,  and 
against  our  vicious  inclinations.  These  judgments  are  found  in 
their  teachings  and  precepts,  which  have  been  composed 
through  some  great  impulse  of  natural  good,  which  has  been 
handed  down  to  us  for  our  practice,  and  which  offer  to  us  many 
helps  in  our  affairs.  The  heathen,  in  the  last  place,  possess 
every  ornament,  grace,  elegance,  and  splendour  of  discourse. 

Yet  amongst  these  so  healthy  characteristics,  they 

Harmful  °  _  ■'  .  '  -^ 

books  of  mix  up  dangerous  gifts,  not  a  few,  like  as  some- 

heathens.  times  honcy  or  the  sweetest  wine  is  mixed  with 

poison.     Of  this  kind  are  the  scruples  and  doubts  raised  about 


50  Educational  Origms  [book  i 

matters  of  our  faith,  and  what  is  worse  than  these,  even  more 
pernicious,  open  derision,  and  sometimes  also  raihng,  since 
purblind  and  weak-sighted  eyes  cannot  bear  to  turn  their  gaze 
to  so  great  a  splendour  of  light.  Then  we  find  praise  of  many 
vices,  e.g.  pride,  anger,  cruelty ;  the  admiration  and  worship  of 
power,  wealth,  pleasures ;  the  story  of  vices  which  breathe 
contamination  in  their  very  recital  as,  e.g.,  the  stories  of 
lust,  revenge,  vainglory.  These  recitals  open  up  schools  of 
slyness,  deceit,  imposture.  Whence,  the  soul,  whether  it  wills 
or  not,  must  get  much  deceit  and  fraud  clinging  to  it,  which 
will  only  await  the  opportunity  for  being  put  into  practice. 
For  when  men's  care  and  thoughts  are  directed  towards 
ambition  or  gain,  only  those  things  are  pursued  which  bring 
money  or  glory.  For  him  who  knows  how  dangerous  these 
books  are,  and  who  understands  the  subject-matter,  there 
would  perhaps  be  no  harm  on  entering  upon  these  studies  and 
plucking  from  them  what  might  seem  good  to  him.  Nay,  even 
wise  men  need  at  times  to  know  of  what  is  harmful,  in  their  con- 
test against  the  harmful,  just  as  skilled  physicians  use  poisons 
against  poisons.  In  this  way  they  can  compare  the  dangerous 
writings  of  the  heathen  with  our  own,  to  show  the  impurity  of 
the  former  and  the  excellence  of  ours,  and  by  the  comparison 
with  darkness,  make  our  light  appear  the  brighter.  In  short, 
they  may  well  peruse  all  sorts  of  writings  either  for  their 
intrinsic  merit  or  to  point  out  their  deficiencies,  as  e.g.  where 
our  age  has  written  against  the  heathen  so  as  to  defeat  them 
with  their  own  weapons.  A  catalogue  of  such  works  has  been 
drawn  up  by  Jerome  when  he  answers  that  orator  Magnus 
to  whom  Calphurnius  Lanarius  had  given  his  aid.  For  this 
reason  when  Julian  the  Apostate  was  strenuously  persecuting 
the  Christians,  he  ordered  that  they  should  not  be  taught  the 
liberal  arts,  lest  they  should  pluck  feathers  from  the  eagle  with 
which  they  might  transfix  the  eagle  itself  \     This  simile  he  is 

1  See  Juliani,  Epistolae\  Socrates,  Histor.  Eccles.  bk  iii,  chap,  x  and 
Nicephor,  bk  X,  chap.  xxv. 


CHAP,  vi]  Choice  of  Books  51 

said  to   have  used   when   he   found  himself  at  a  loss  in  the 
liberal  arts. 

Harmful  books  are  dangerous  to  those  of  a  curious  dis- 
position, such  as  those  who  do  not  hesitate  to  taste  hemlock, 
and  try  what  its  flavour  may  be,  and  thereby  bring  about  their 
own  death.  So,  too,  with  the  ignorant  and  careless,  who  do 
not  know  the  right  use  to  make  of  books.  It  certainly  would 
be  very  fitting,  if,  on  account  of  the  weakness  and  darkness  of 
our  mind,  hurtful  passages  could  be  cleansed,  so  that  there 
should  be  no  pitfall  of  harm  left,  and  we  should  only  then 
wander  about  in  those  fields  in  which  grow  wholesome  or 
pleasant  herbs,  sown  by  some  honest  and  wise  husbandman, 
and  taken  from  the  sure  vineyards  of  holy  religion,  or  only 
those  things  approved  as  satisfactory,  and  transplanted  there 
away  from  dangerous  fields,  as  the  treasures  of  the  Egyptians 
were  converted  to  the  adornment  of  the  Templet  How  much 
more  fruitfully  and  pleasantly  do  we  take  our  journeys  in  the 
meadows  if  we  fear  no  snares  from  plants  or  serpents,  than  we 
should  in  the  doubtful  and  dangerous  districts  of  Asia  and 
Africa.  S.  Ambrose  has  wisely  and  piously  adapted  Cicero's 
work  lie  Officiis  (which  is  full  of  good  thoughts  and  of  what  is 
useful  for  life)  into  a  form  consistent  with  our  faith,  since  he 
thought  it  was  safer  for  people  to  quaff  what  trickled  from  a 
Christian  than  from  a  heathen  source.  Knowledge  and  ex- 
perience of  evil  are  of  service  to  a  few,  if  only  it  has  been  shown 
how  we  can  make  use  of  the  evil  to  some  satisfactory  purpose, 
or  as  we  say,  commonly,  when  they  are  "turned  to  use."  For 
this  reason,  the  Lord,  considering  our  infirmity,  forbade  that 
we  should  within  ourselves  have  anything  to  do  with  the 
hidden  and  deceitful  snares  of  the  devil,  or  any  commerce 
with  him.  Perhaps  to  some  it  might  be  permitted  without 
danger.  But  a  common  danger  is  to  be  avoided  by  all  in 
common.     Therefore  I  think  that  a  good  man  will  not  go  into 

1  See  Augustine,  de  doctrina  Christiana,  li,  4. 


52  Educational  Origins  [book  i 

dubious  tracts,  and  that  it  is  belter  to  accept  the  Christian 
^,  ,.  teaching  handed  down  throuirh  Christian  tradition 

The  reading  ^  ^ 

of  heathen  from    Christ    than    to    learn    from    monumental 

^"  ^"^^^  works  of  the  impious,  even  if  we  cut  out  those 

things  which  might  injure  the  integrity  of  good  morals.  If 
this  cannot  be  done,  at  least,  let  some  man  show  us  the  way, 
a  man  not  only  well  furnished  with  learning,  but  also  a  man  of 
honour  and  of  practical  wisdom,  whom  we  trust  as  a  leader ; 
who  will  remove  us  from  danger  either  quietly  without  explain- 
ing the  danger,  lest  he  rouse  the  desire  of  curiosity ;  or,  will 
openly  show  to  those  for  whom  it  is  fitting,  what  danger  lies 
hidden,  and  knowing  thoroughly  the  minds  of  those  whom  he 
is  leading,  will  explain  as  much  to  every  one  as  it  may  be 
expedient  for  him  to  know.  In  this  manner  the  heathen 
woman  will  be  received  into  marriage,  with  nails  and  hair 
duly  cut,  according  to  the  rite  of  the  children  of  Israel,  even 
as  S.  Jerome  expounds  ^ 

'  Epistle  ad  Magmim  oratoreni  Rom.  Vol.  2,  p.  326,  ed.  Basle  (1516). 


BOOK    II 

SCHOOLS 

CHAPTER    I 

SCHOOLS   AND   TEACHERS 

Where  schools  should  be  erected.  Who  should  be  chosen  to  the  task  of 
teaching,  how  and  by  whom ;  concerning  the  salary  or  reward 
of  teachers ;  also  other  matters  which  pertain  to  the  economy  of 
schools.  The  erection  of  schools.  The  choice  of  schoolmasters. 
Their  position  and  payment. 

It  is  necessary,  next,  to  say  what  things,  in  what  manner,  to 
what  extent,  by  whom,  and  in  what  place,  each  subject  is  to  be 
taught.  Above  all  things  it  is  especially  to  he  considered  how 
instruction  may  be  given  well,  so  that  good  morals  may  not 
be  corrupted,  or  in  any  way  impeded  or  dimmed. 

First  of  all,  something  must  be  said  about  the  site,  for 
The  site  for  that  is  usually  the  first  consideration  in  erecting 

the  Academy.  r^  school.  (^arcful  attention  should  be  given 
that  the  air  he  healthy,  so  that  the  scholars  may  not  have  to 
flee  thence,  smitten  with  a  fear  of  pestilence.  Thus,  Alexinus, 
the  philosopher  of  Elis,  who  taught  in  an  unhealthy  place 
and  in  a  place  which  lacked  many  things  which  were  necessary 
for  use,  was  deserted  by  all  his  pupils:  and  that  indeed,  though 
he  met  with  the  greatest  approval  and  acceptance'.  Never- 
theless, I  would  not  choose  a  verdant  or  pleasant  place,  which 

1  Laertius  in  his  Euclid,  bk  ii. 


54  Schools  [book  it 

may  often  tempt  the  scholars  to  venture  forth  unless,  perchance, 
the  attention  is  absorbed  in  delightful  studies,  such  as  poetry, 
music,  history.  I  consider  that  this  unhealthiness  of  climate 
was  chosen  by  Plato  for  his  Academy  in  the  suburbs  of 
Athens.  Yet  if  he  deliberately  aimed  at  unhealthiness,  he 
would  scarcely  bring  me  to  approve  of  his  plan, 
rightly  says  For  thosc  who  are  going  to  accomplish  good 
dolmen*  ^^^'^  and  accurate  work  in  studies  must  be  in  health, 
deveiope,  to         Lgt  it  be  secured,  then,  that  plenty  of  nourish- 

whose  virtues  .  -  ,,    .  ,  .  , 

the  straitened      mcnt  (and  all  that  IS  helpful)  is  at  hand,  so  that 
circumstances     fruitful  minds   may   not   be  compelled  through 

of  the  home  •'  '  '^ 

stand  in  slender  equipment  to   give  up   letters,  and  so 

the  way.  j^^  without  great  good,  both  for  themselves  and 

for  many  others,  especially  when  youths  who  strive  after  learning 

are  too  often  in  poor  rather  than  opulent  circum- 

Almost  all  ^  _  ^ 

young  men  Stances,  and  the  vanity  of  riches  allures  those 

Si^nd^to'some       ^''^o  posscss  liches  to  far  different  desires,  such 
pursuit,  either     ^g   hunting,  horscs,   War,   play,   voluptuousness, 

of  rearing  ,  .      ,        .       ,  .  ,  .  . 

horses  or  dogs      and  cvcry  kmd  oi   pleasure,   m   the  pursuit  of 
for  hunting  or      which  they  think  they  apply  their  riches  to  the 

else  give  .  ■'  j       v  r  j 

themselves  to        mOSt    fitting    USe'. 

p  1  osop  y.  j^^^  ^^  gj^^  ^^  apart  from  the  crowd,  and 

especially  from  workmen  who  produce  a  noise  and  loud  sounds 
in  their  work,  such  as  smiths,  stone-cutters :  in  short,  all  who 
use  a  hammer,  a  wheel  and  lathe,  and  a  weaving-comb;  yet  let 
not  the  place  be  altogether  uninhabited,  lest  there  should  be 
wanting  witnesses  and,  as  it  were,  spectators  of  their  faults, 
if  they  are  addicted  to  any.  Therefore  I  should  like  the 
inhabitants  to  be  earnest  and  upright,  whom  the  scholars  may 
reverence ;  not  innkeepers  or  wicked  people  who  may  urge 
them  on  to  vicious  practices;  not  sordid,  or  hunters  after  petty 
gains  :  for  grasping  people  make  others  anxious  and  sordid, 
and  to  become  such  as  those  who  are  called  by  the  Greek  word 
fxiKpoXoyoL,  and  nothing  is  more  inimical  to  wisdom.  Also  let 
'  So  Terence  in  Andria  i,  i. 


CHAP,  i]  Schools  and  Teachers  55 

the  site  of  the  school  be  far  from  the  retinue  of  a  court,  and  from 
the  neighbourhood  of  girls  ;  the  former,  by  ease  and  evil  arts, 
incites  their  minds,  unformed  and  flexible,  to  any  shape,  and  the 
latter  by  their  beauty  allure  the  student  at  a  time  of  life  exposed 
to  that  attractive  form  of  evil.  It  would  be  certainly  better 
to  have  the  school  built  outside  the  town,  especially  if  that  is 
by  the  sea  or  if  the  inhabitants  are  devoted  to  merchandise, 
provided  that  a  place  is  not  chosen  where  idle  people  are 
accustomed  to  stroll  about  for  pleasure.  And  do  not  let  it  be 
near  a  public  road,  lest  the  minds  of  the  scholars  should  be 
drawn  off  from  the  work  they  have  begun  by  the  diversion 
of  watching  the  passers-by.  Nor  should  the  site  be  on  the 
boundaries  of  a  country  which  is  wont  to  be  infested  by  war,  lest 
the  fear  of  war  should  not  allow  pupils  to  give  their  attention 
to  their  studies  in  security.  Let  a  public  academy  be  established 
in  each  province  of  a  country.  I  define  a  province  not  by  its 
natural  limits,  such  as  mountains,  rivers  or  the  sea,  but  by  the 
fixed  rule  and  sovereignty  under  which  it  is.  I  suggest  this  so 
that  if  the  youths  are  shut  in  on  the  borders  of  the  territory  by 
a  neighbouring  war,  either  because  of  their  own  danger  or  the 
anxiety  of  their  friends,  they  may  not  have  to  take  refuge  in 
another  kingdom  or  else  be  compelled,  on  some  emergency, 
with  great  waste  of  time,  to  interrupt  studies  well  begun.  Let 
no  one  wonder  that  the  place  where  wisdom  is  to  be  born  and 
grow  should  be  sought  with  this  care,  when  we  so  anxiously 
look  after  a  place  where  the  bees  can  get  honey,  the  price  of 
which  is  how  much  below  wisdom  ? 

But  most  of  all  it  is  the  men  who  are  of  service  to  the 

school :  therefore  not  only  let  the  masters  have 

should  be  of        such  learning  that  they  may  be  able  to  educate 

good  moral  yN^iX,  but  let  them  also  have  skill  and  aptness  in 

character.  .  ,     .         ,  _ii 

teaching ^  Let  their  characters  be  pure.  The 
first  care  is  that  they  may  neither  say  nor  do  anything  which 
may  leave  an  evil  example  for  the  hearer,  nor  anything  which  it 

^  Quintilian  i,  i. 


56  Schools  [book  ii 

is  not  safe  to  imitate.  If  they  have  any  faults,  let  them  strive  to 
put  them  away  and  eradicate  them  entirely,  or  what  is  next  best, 
let  them  carefully  and  strenuously  keep  their  faults  away  from 
the  notice  of  the  scholar,  for  the  latter  ought  to  bear  himself 
in  accordance  with  the  example  of  his  master.  Nor  must  the 
teacher  be  of  proved  character  only,  but  he  must  also  be 
practically  wise^  Let  him  have  a  disposition  fitted  to  the  art 
which  he  professes  and  to  the  kind  of  pupils  whom  he 
instructs,  for  the  better  his  methods,  the  better  they  will  under- 
stand. As  a  grammarian,  let  him  not  be  rabid.  As  a  physician, 
let  him  not  be  of  the  obstinate  sort  who  will  not  give  way 
before  one  who  offers  better  advice  than  himself  As  a  moral 
philosopher,  let  him  not  be  arrogant  and  a  mere  discoverer  of 
the  faults  of  others.  Practical  wisdom,  the  directress  of  the 
whole  of  life,  has  the  greatest  and  most  effective  power  in 
teaching  good  ways,  in  correcting  faults,  in  reproving,  and 
in  showing  the  use  of  punishment  (and  how  far  it  should  go), 
for  these  things,  employed  in  their  own  time,  and  place  and 
manner,  have  great  effect ;  but  if  they  are  inopportune,  they 
are  all  odious  and  inefficacious.  Let  the  master  be  good,  and 
a  lover  of  letters  :  for,  because  he  is  studious  he  will  gladly 
teach  so  that  he  may  exercise  himself,  and  because  he  is  good, 
so  that  he  may  be  of  service  to  others.  He  will  be  of  a 
fatherly  disposition  towards  his  pupils,  so  that  they  may  be 
to  him  in  the  place  of  sons,  nor  will  he  be  on  the  look-out 
as  to  how  much  payment  he  may  obtain  from  them  or  from 
his  profession.  Instruction  which  is  sold  is  never  well  given. 
Xenophon^  in  his  Commentaries  is  the  authority  for  the  state- 
ment that  Socrates  specially  avoided  the  selling  of  instruction. 
Two  faults  are  to  be  driven  very  far  off  from  all  learning 
and  from  learned  men — avarice  and  ambition. 
Jh^uWbl^^  These    both   spoil   the  arts,   and    bring  literary 

driven  out  ^-,5^  and  letters  into  contempt.     For  they  drive 

from  learning.  ,  ^  1         •         1 

learned  men  to  what  is  most  unworthy,  m  that 
1  Quint.  I,  I  and  2,  and  11,  2.  -  Memorabilia,  bk  i. 


CHAP,  i]  Schools  and   Teachers  57 

they  assent  to  the  most  absurd  opinions  and  ignorant  judgments; 

in   that   they  admit  the  disgraceful  parts  of  the  arts  to  the 

honours  of  study ;    in  that  they  pertinaciously  support  what 

is  false.     Such  men  prefer  that  all  knowledge 

(i)   Arrogance.        ,11,  ,  •  1       1  1  ■,  •,         1 

should  be  turned  upside  down  and  annihilated, 
rather  than  that  they  should  confess  themselves  vanquished  or 
ignorant  of  anything.  In  short,  the  teacher  should  not  do,  say, 
seek  and  pursue  those  things  by  which  money  or  glory  may 
be  obtained.  Otherwise  he  brings  about  the  results  :  deceit, 
quarrels,  perjury,  hatred ;  finally,  principles  weakly  defended. 
How  can  a  teacher  rule  his  pupils  when  he  looks  to  them  for 

praise  or  money  ?      Therefore  let  every  oppor- 

(2)  Avarice.  .  ■'  .  j        i  r 

tunity  for  personal  gain  be  removed  from  schools. 
Let  teachers  receive  a  salary  from  the  state,  such  as  a  good 
man  will  desire  but  a  wicked  man  disdain  ;  lest,  if  it  be  large, 
ignorant  and  wicked  persons  may  insinuate  themselves  into 
The  scholar's  P°^^^  through  greed  for  gold,  while  good  and 
way  of  learned  men  who  do  not  know  how  to  canvass 

living.  r  11  ■   1  -I 

tor  posts,  and  do  not  wish  to  do  so,  may  be  ex- 
cluded. Let  them  receive  no  fees  from  pupils  and  thus  avoid 
seeking  money  from  them,  or  treating  them  too  kindly  and 
indulgently  through  hope  of  gain.  Do  not  let  the  pupils  buy 
their  food  from  the  masters,  but  one  of  the  scholars  may  be 
chosen  every  week,  who  shall  be,  as  it  were,  the  steward  (archi- 
triclinus).  Let  him  every  day  see  after  the  buying  of  the  meals; 
and  when  the  week  is  ended  and  the  account  drawn  up,  let  him 
bring  together  tokens,  having  added  in  the  account  a  payment 
to  the  servants  for  their  work.  Let  the  food  be  such  as  is 
readily  procurable,  pure  and  easy  to  cook ;  for  this  kind  of 
food  keeps  the  body  healthy  and  the  mind  vigorous.  Also 
_.  let  every  occasion  of  boasting,  arrogance  and 

triumphing  in  Ostentation  be  removed.  Wherefore,  let  public 
shouid^be°"^  disputatious  in  which  the  truth  is  not  brought  out, 
removed  from      be  rare;  where  nobody  agrees  with  the  person 

scholars.  ,  1  •  ,  1  r  ■,  ■, 

who  speaks  with  greater  keenness  for  truth  :  only 


58  Schools  [book  ii 

praise  for  wit  or  cleverness  is  sought.  And  out  of  this  struggle 
for  praise  grow  quarrels  and  wrangling  and  dissensions. 
What  is  more  pernicious,  the  intellect  takes  up  arms  against 
truth  and,  in  order  to  subvert  it,  uses  all  kinds  of  secret  devices 
and  applies  every  contrivance  it  can,  so  that  it  wishes  truth  to 
be  overthrown  and  overcome  by  it,  instead  of  sulimitting  itself 
to  the  truth.  And  a  strife  so  nefarious  and  impious  as  this 
does  not  become  good  men,  much  less  Christians,  whose 
minds  ought  to  be  most  pure, — followers  of  the  truth,  of 
Christ  Himself.  Finally,  many  go  away  from  these  disputations 
still  more  full  of  railing  and  more  obstinate,  and  no  one  is 
any  wiser  or  better  than  when  he  came. 

Would  it  not  be  better  not  to  have  any  degrees  of  honour 
in  an  academy,  according  to  the  word  of  the 

Dcsrrccs  of 

honour  in  the  Lord  :  "  Be  ye  not  called  Master,  for  One  is 
Academy.  ^^^^    Master'"?      Might    there    not    be    some 

temporary  reward  of  learning  rather  than  a  lasting  dignity? 
Or  is  it  better  to  have  some  honours,  as  distinctions  of  learned 
men,  lest  all  be  measured  by  the  same  ten-foot  rod  of  appro- 
bation or  reprobation?  For  that  saying  of  Christ  refers  to 
heavenly  doctrine  of  which  he  is  the  only  Master.  Therefore 
it  does  not  seem  right  that  the  title  should  be  abolished  simply 
because  it  has  been  abused,  but  rather  that  it  should  be  re- 
stored to  its  right  use  and  value.  No  laws  are  good  enough 
if  the  wickedness  of  men  chooses  to  twist  them  to  suit  their 
own  desires.  Nevertheless,  the  best  laws  are  to  be  as  un- 
alterably fixed  as  possible.  Yet  let  only  a  few  be  admitted  to 
these  honours,  lest  a  mark  of  the  greatest  distinction  become 
worthless  through  becoming  too  common  :  and  also  because 
the  pride  of  many  people  increases,  and  through  a  swollen 
kind  of  dignity  they  refuse  to  learn  from  those  who  are  wiser. 
Hence  S.  James^  gives  the  advice,  "My  brethren,  be  not  many 
masters." 

1  S.  Matthew  xxiii.  8.  -  S.  James  iii.  i. 


CHAP,  i]  Schools  and  Teachers  59 

Let  all  be  kept  at  each  kind  of  study  for  a  certain  and  fixed 
time,  lest  anyone  who  has  tasted  but  slightly  of  learning  shall 
trumpet  himself  as  one  who  has  finished  a  course  of  instruction, 
and  completed  the  circuit,  as  they  say  in  the  Greek  contests. 
Let  some  extra  time  be  added  for  those  who  are  somewhat  slow, 
for  it  is  not  expedient  to  have  one  time  for  all ;  nothing  would 

be  more  unequal  than  an  equality  of  that  kind. 

Those  who  learn  should  be  called  '  students '  or 
'learners.'     Then  after  a  certain  time,  when  they  have  gained 

experience,  they  will  become  'professors.'     For 

some  time  they  should  teach  before  a  public 
audience,  among  which  there  will  sometimes  be  those  who 
are  able  to  pass  judgment  on  what  is  said.  If  they  are 
Doctors  or  approved,    let    them    cease    to    be    'professors,' 

Masters.  ^-^^  become  'doctors'  or  'masters.'     From  these 

men,  who  have  the  necessary  aptness,  teachers  will  be  chosen. 
Master-  These  we  call  '  master-professors,'  and  they  will 

Professors.  {-,£  \\t\^  to  have  the  highest  honour  in  the  whole 

academy.  And  if  anyone  is  unworthy  of  the  'Doctorate,'  either 
through  ignorance  or  through  a  disgraceful  and  wicked  hfe,  his 
dignity  should  be  publicly  taken  from  him,  just  in  tlie  same  way 
as  the  magistrates  of  the  State  used  to  be  lowered  in  rank. 

Let  those  who  are  raised  to  the  office  of  instructors  of 
Character  y^"*^  ^e  judged,  not  Only  by  their  learning,  but 

as  well  as  also  by  their  characters.     Teaching  with  which 

nec^ilty^in  the  life  docs  not  correspond  is  harmful  and 
teachers.  disgraceful,     k  life  without  learning  may  merit 

much  praise,  but  cannot  be  approved  in  the  teacher.  There- 
fore the  school  is  not  the  place  for  it;  elsewhere  it  has 
its  high  and  honourable  place.  Those  who  are  appointed  to, 
or  are  entering  upon,  a  post  of  honour  should  pay  nothing  for 
it.  Let  them  not  give  a  banquet  or  influence  by  any  appeal  to 
greed  the  minds  of  those  about  to  appoint  them  to  any  honour. 
Let  recipients  of  honours  feast  together,  if  they  like,  and  pay 
for  their  feast  by  money  collected  amongst  themselves,  as  a 
F.  w.  4 


6o  Schools  [book  ii 

proof  of  their  hilarity.     But  let  them  be  merry  in  such  a  way 
as  not  to  forget  that  they  are  devoted  to  wisdom. 

Let  them  make  those  men  professors  or  masters  who  by 
The  choice  of  their  learning,  their  judgment  and  their  character 
professors.  are  able  both  to  teach  others  and  to  gain  the 

approbation  of  the  pubUc.  Among  this  class  there  must  not 
be  men  who  are  a  disgrace  to  learning,  or  who  perversely  abuse 
it,  nor  those  who  disturb  the  peace  of  others,  nor  those  who 
think  so  much  of  gain  that  for  the  sake  of  it  they  are  ready 
to  strike  a  blow  at  the  public  good,  by  giving  the  control  as 
the  guides  of  scholars  to  those  who  will  throw  down  headlong 
their  students  into  the  whirlpool  (of  ignorance).  Let  them 
pity  the  human  race,  bUnd  and  forsaken  amidst  so  many 
dangers ;  let  them  remember  that  their  heavenly  Lord  and 
Master  is  calling  to  them  :  "  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth  " ; 
"  Ye  are  the  light  of  the  worlds"  And  if  the  light  is  obscured 
who  will  be  able  to  see ;  and  if  the  salt  hath  lost  its  savour, 
wherewithal  shall  it  be  salted?  Therefore  let  professors  and 
masters — avoiding  disputation  with  one  another,  and  divesting 
themselves  of  pride — be  good,  learned  and  practical,  and  spend 
their  lives  harmoniously,  so  that  they  may  mutually  help  each 
other,  knowing  that  they  are  doing  God's  work.  For  he  who 
helps  a  brother  who  is  labouring  for  the  truth,  not  only  helps 
a  man  but  also  the  truth,  and  shows  himself  a  servant  of  God, 
from  Whom  proceeds  all  truth  and  Who  is  indeed  the  highest 
truth  Himself,  pure  and  perfect^  Those  who  know  that  most 
things  are  obscure  and  uncertain  to  learners  will  be  far  from 
divisions  and  quarrels  amongst  themselves,  and  that  man  is 
mad  who  hates  his  brother  on  account  of  what  is  no  more 
revealed  to  himself  than  to  the  other.  I  know  not  how  little 
greater  is  the  very  faint  glimmer  of  truth  which  shines  more  on 
one  than  on  another. 

Do  not  choose  the  professors  from  those  scholars  in  whom 
the  desire  of  favour  or  of  money  is  very  powerful.     It  is  not 
1  S.  Matthew  v.  13,  14.  ^  S.  John  xiv.  6. 


CHAP,  i]  Schools  and  Teachers  6i 

the  most  useful  men  who  would  be  chosen  from  among  them, 
Election  of  but  the  most  favoured  and  the  most  popular  and 

professors.  obliging,  Or  those  who  have  given  or  promised 

most,  or  from  whom  license  may  be  hoped  for.     Much  less 
do  I  approve  of  what  I  learn  is  done  in  some  academies — that 
at  the  same  hour  two  masters  teach  the  same  subject,  whom 
they  call  '  concurrentes,'  and  I  have  never  heard 

Concurrentcs.' 

a  more  appropriate  word,  for  they  do  run  to- 
gether assuredly,  and  meet  and  fight  with  violent  abuse, 
bitterness  and  fury.  There  is  a  pandering  to  the  audience, 
as  it  were  to  the  pubhc  in  the  theatre,  who  are  pleased  not 
with  the  best  man,  but  with  the  best  actor.  For  the  hearers 
cannot  pass  an  opinion  on  what  they  are  ignorant  of.  Hence 
strife  is  received  by  the  audience  with  great  applause,  for  the 
spectacle  of  a  fight  is  most  pleasing  to  them.  All  respect  and 
reverence  for  the  teacher  vanishes,  and  with  it  disappear  the 
tranquillity  of  philosophical  thought  and  the  progress  of  studies. 
Masters  as  well  as  pupils  become  accustomed  to  envying, 
anger,  offensive  language,  want  of  restraint  in  deeds  and  w^ords, 
and  other  vices  extremely  unbecoming  a  good  man.  Where- 
fore, they  proceed  to  public  affairs,  to  private  affairs,  to  councils, 
in  short,  to  every  function  of  life,  ignorant  and  senseless,  be- 
cause of  their  minds  being  constantly  irritated. 

The  election  .  ,  r  i  /• 

of  professors  and  are  like  Wild  bcasts.  Therefore  let  professors 
dei^g^ted^  ^^  be  chosen  and  approved,  not  by  the  votes  of  the 
wise  men  of  inexperienced  and  uncouth  crowd,  but  by  a  few 
"^^'  out  of  the  academy  who  are  respected  for  their 
learning  and  the  uprightness  of  their  lives. 


4—2 


CHAPTER    II 

THE    IDEAL    SCHOOL 

With  what  end  in  view  boys  should  be  sent  to  school.  What  should  be 
the  mental  ability  in  each.  How  mental  ability  may  be  estimated. 
Whether  it  is  best  to  educate  at  home  or  in  schools.  This  is  indeed 
a  very  old  question  but  it  is  one  treated  by  Vives,  both  acutely  and 
thoroughly.  Aims  of  school  life.  The  ideal  school.  Public  and 
private  education. 

When  a  boy  is  brought  to  school  by  his  father,  let  it  be 
made   clear  to  the  father  that   learning   ought 

The  entrance  r  i  ■ 

of  the  boy  into  not  to  be  sought  as  a  means  ot  makmg  an 
the  School.  ^^^^   Uving,  for    that   would    be   a   reward    un- 

worthy of  such  extraordinary  labour.  If  teachers  gave  ex- 
pression to  this  opinion  actually  in  their  lives,  others  would 
readily  believe  it  to  be  true.  If  the  contrary  were  the  case, 
what  hope  would  a  father  have  of  practical  wisdom  and  piety 
in  his  son,  if  he  saw  that  the  teacher,  i.e.  the  example  set  to 
his  son,  was  imprudent  or  wicked?  It  should  be  made  known 
that  the  end  of  learning  is  that  the  boy  may  become  wise  and 
therefore  better.  Let  the  boy  remain  one  or  two  months  in 
the  preparatory  school  that  his  disposition  may  be  investigated. 
Four  times  a  year  let  the  masters  meet  in  some  place  apart 
where  they  may  discuss  together  the  natures  of  their  pupils 
and  consult  about  them.  And  let  them  apply  each  boy  to 
that  study  for  which  he  seems  most  fit.  ApoUonius  of  Ala- 
banda,  who  is  spoken  of  by  Cicero^  as  a  master  of  rhetoric, 
although  he  was  paid  for  his  teaching,  would  not  suffer  those 

*  Cicero,  ck  Oratore,  bk  i. 


CHAP,  ii]  The  Ideal  School  63 

whom  he  thought  would  not  become  orators  to  waste  their 
labour  with  him,  but  used  to  dismiss  them,  and  exhort  and 
urge  them  to  devote  their  time  to  some  other  study  which  he 
considered  more  suitable.  Let  the  gratuitous  teacher  do  his 
work  as  thoroughly  as  the  man  who  is  paid,  whether  he  be  a 
rhetorician,  philosoplier  or  theologian.  Let  him  as  a  Christian 
do  what  the  heathen  did,  and  not  allow  a  boy  to  lose  time  and 
money  by  having  him  as  a  teacher  when  the  pupil  is  unable 
to  profit  by  instruction,  lest  nothing  else  should  be  looked  for 
in  learning  but  disgrace  and  a  seed-plot  of  errors,  and  the 
scholar,  as  it  were,  have  the  wild  beast  aroused  in  him  and 
be  thus  sent  out  as  a  source  of  injury  into  the  stated  If  these 
precautions  be  taken,  then  the  unlearned  will  honour  the 
learned  as  if  they  were  gods  fallen  down  from  heaven,  and 
their  academies  as  holy  places  and  full  of  sacred  awe,  inhabited 
by  a  divinity,  as  were  formerly  Helicon  and  Parnassus.  How 
shameful  it  will  appear  to  the  thinking  man  that  our  characters 
and  our  ignorance  should  be  laughed  at  and  despised  by  the 
unlearned,  and,  what  is  the  most  serious,  that  this  treatment 
should  not  be  undeserved  ?  For  indeed  it  is  not  to  be 
The  source  of  tolerated  that  husbandmen,  shoemakers  and 
contempt  for       carpenters,  and  men  of  the  lowest  class  should 

learning. 

generally  be  more  temperate  m  their  dispositions 
than  very  many  learned  men.  To  a  school  of  the  right  kind,  not 
only  should  boys  be  brought,  but  even  old  men,  driven  hither 
and  thither  in  a  great  tempest  of  ignorance  and  vice,  should 
betake  themselves  to  it  as  it  were  to  a  haven.  In  short,  let 
all  be  attracted  by  a  certain  majesty  and  authority,  and  let 
the  teacher  accomplish  more  among  his  pupils  by  inspiring 
trust  and  veneration  than  by  blows  and  threats.  Admiration 
of  the  intellects  and  characters  of  the  teachers  will  be  the 
greatest  stimulus  to  study,  and  a  powerful  influence  in  pro- 
whatan  ducing   obedicnce.      This   is  a   true    academy. 

Academy  IS.        namely,   an    association   and  harmony  of  men 
^  Quintilian  i,  3. 


64  Schools  [book  II 

equally  good  as  learned,  met  together  to  confer  the  same 
blessings  on  all  those  who  come  there  for  the  sake  of  learning. 
For  it  is  not  enough  for  one  or  two  in  that  academy  to  be 
good,  if  there  are  many  bad  who  are  marked  by  plotting  and 
by  audacity.  For  the  bad  will  overcome  the  good,  as  we 
often  see  it  happen.  Pupils  will  flock  over  to  the  teacher 
who  pampers  them  the  most. 

Is  the  question  asked  :  Are  boys  better  educated  at  home 
or  in  public  institutions'  ?     If  there  be  any  such 
and  public  academy  as  I  have  depicted,  it  would  certainly 

uca  ion.  ^^  \it^\.  to  place  boys  there  from  their  infancy, 

where  they  might  at  once  imbibe  the  best  morals,  and  evil 
behaviour  would  be  to  them  strange  and  detestable,  as  he  who 
was  educated  by  Plato,  when  he  saw  his  father  angry,  wondered 
very  much  and  affirmed  that  he  had  seen  no  such  offence  in 
Plato^.  But  as  academies  are  now,  the  question  requires  more 
consideration  than  one  might  think.  For  we  must  consult  the 
interests  of  the  home,  the  fatherland,  and  beyond  it. 

Above  all,  boys  must  be  accustomed  to  delight  in  good 
things  and  to  love  them,  and  to  be  grieved  at  evil  things  and 
to  detest  them  ;  yet  their  ideas  (of  good  and  evil)  should  be 
suited  to  their  mental  grasp,  for  they  cannot  at  once  apprehend 
the  highest  and  the  absolute".  The  fact  is  that  habit  is  most 
pleasant,  and  opinions  received  by  us  as  children  follow  us  very 
far  on  the  road  of  our  lives,  and  so  much  the  more  if  they 
have  been  fixed  and  confirmed  in  the  earliest  age  by  conduct. 
In  this  respect  boys  are  naturally  apes;  they  imitate  everything 
and  always,  especially  those  whom  they  consider  worthy  of 
imitation  on  account  of  their  authority,  or  because  of  the  faith 
they  place  in  them,  such  as  parents,  nurses,  masters  and  school- 
fellows. Hence,  we  find  a  corrupt  disposition  in  many  pupils 
from  whom  it  ought  to  have  been  swept  away,  certainly  in 
those  whom  I  have  just  mentioned. 

^  Quintilian  i,  2.  ^  See  Seneca  n,  2  dc  Ira. 

'^  See  Quintilian  I,  i. 


CHAP,  ii]  The  Ideal  School  65 

It  is  fitting  that  a  father  should  have  great  anxiety  about 
the   morals   of  his   son,  greater  than  about  his 

The  father's  ...  .  .  ^• ,.       • 

anxiety  for  inheritance,  in  proportion  as  morahty  is  more 

the  morals  of       important  than  inheritance^     And  whether  he 

his  children.  ^  .    ,       . 

is  going  to  bequeath  any  inheritance  or  none, 
the  first  thing  to  be  possessed  is  an  upright  disposition.  Nay, 
rather,  there  is  no  need  of  inheritance,  but  of  virtue:  for  "the 
good  man  will  quickly  make  a  fortune,  and  the  wicked  man 
will  quickly  spend  it."  When  the  demand  comes  from  parents 
for  a  method  of  education  for  children,  then  Nature  herself 
speaks  to  us,  and  sacred  learning  teaches  us  by  examples  and 
precepts.  If  for  no  other  reason,  certainly  for  the  sake  of  his 
son — especially  when  he  is  deliberating  about  the  instruction 
of  his  son — it  is  most  important  for  the  father  to  acquaint 
himself  with  the  state  of  his  house  and  the  whole  family,  even 
if  he  knows  nothing  about  them  at  any  other  time.  If  he  sees 
that  anyone  is  moulding  the  waxen  mind  of  his  boy  to  evil, 
let  him  remove  him  if  he  can  conveniently  do  so.  If  not,  and 
if  there  is  no  one  in  the  family  whose  character  the  boy  could 
worthily  imitate,  let  the  father  commit  the  care  of  his  son  to 
others  away  from  home^.  Thus  the  Romans  formerly  used 
to  send  their  sons  to  some  old  and  distinguished  man,  very 
serious  and  pious,  for  the  sake  of  learning.  For  instance,  Cicero 
was  taken  to  Q.  Scaevola,  a  man  of  high  and  noble  family,  of 
dignity  and  wealth^.  For  old  men  do  not  shrink  from  trouble, 
^, ., ,       ^         when  they  see  that  it  is  useful,  and  especially  when 

Children  the  ^  ... 

seed  of  the  it  is  ucccssary  for  the  republic,  since  the  republic 

^^^"^   "^'  will  be  after  their  death  exactly  as  they  have  left 

the  boys  or  youths.  At  the  present  time,  when  the  thought  of 
the  common  good  affects  few  and  almost  none,  this  office  is 
despised  by  all  when  indeed  it  ought  by  no  means  to  be 
avoided  but  for  love  of  one's  country  ought  to  be  eagerly 
desired  and  embraced.     But,  to-day,  in  many  of  the  nations, 

1  Quint.  Institulioiies  Oratoriae  X,  lo. 

■^  Quint.  I,  2.  ^  See  Cicero,  Philip.  8. 


66  Schools  [book  ii 

love  of  the  fatherland  is  not  even  understood,  to  such  a  degree 
does  each  live  and  care  for  himself  alone.  Therefore  if  a  father 
is  able,  let  him  appoint  as  teacher  for  his  son  a  holy  and  pure 
man.  Let  the  boy  be  taught  by  him,  if  he  is  able  to  teach, 
only  not  alone,  for,  as  Quintilian'  shows,  he  will  in  that  case 
make  less  progress.  If  it  is  not  possible  to  obtain  such  a  man, 
from  whom  the  boy  may  receive  good  instruction,  or  if  there 
are  not  fellow-pupils  to  be  found,  let  the  father  send  the  boy 
to  the  public  gymnasium  of  the  State,  and  choose  out  some 
relative  or  neighbour  or  friend,  to  whom  the  boy  may  be  sent 
from  time  to  time,  so  that  he  may  be  examined  as  to  his 
studies  and  the  progress  of  his  manners.  But  it  is  not  good 
for  boys  to  board  in  the  school,  for  there  they  are  not  nourished 
so  healthily  nor  provided  for  so  liberally,  as  at  home,  unless  the 
parents  are  despicable  and  sordid  men  and  of  dissolute  life, 
or  men  who  ruin  the  disposition  of  their  sons  by  lavish  in- 
dulgence. For  those  who  now  send  their  sons  to  certain 
schools  for  the  sake  of  a  courteous,  polite  and  noble  education 
are  very  much  deceived,  for  in  nearly  all  of  them  the  masters 
are  greedy,  sordid,  low,  as  well  as  morose,  hard  to  please, 
passionate,  and  of  most  evil  dispositions  not  to  mention  their 
effeminacy.  Since  the  master  cannot  always  be  with  them  in 
all  they  do,  the  boys,  in  fact,  are  promoters  and  examples  to  one 
another  of  obscenity  and  certain  false  opinions  about  things. 
Therefore  they  go  out  from  the  schools  as  youths  whom  no  one 
can  see  in  society  without  nausea,  nor  brook  without  aversion. 
Indeed,  in  the  present  state  of  scholastic  morality,  it  is  not 
expedient  to    send  boys  to  a  public  academy 

The  Academy.  ,.        .      . 

Without  careful  discrniunation. 
In  the  first  place,  one  must  find  out  from  friends  in  the 
country  some  one  who  knows  the  natural  disposition  (of  the 
master),  and  whether  he  is  sufficiently  learned.  He  himself  will 
every  day  give  many  indications  of  himself.  Next,  whether  he 
will  make  a  proper  use  of  his  learning.  For  nothing  is  worse 
'  Bk  I,  cap,  2,  where  all  things  are  found  best  explained. 


CHAP,  ii]  The  Ideal  School  67 

than  the  abuse  of  good  things,  and  learning — the  instrument  of 
the  greatest  value — may  be  turned  to  atrocious  crimes,  if  it 
is  lodged  in  a  wicked  disposition.  Rightly  does  Quintilian^  say 
that  living  honourably  seems  to  him  better  than  learning  well. 
Those  who  are  wicked  and  silly  are  rarely  made  good ;  on  the 
contrary,  rather  through  the  degeneration  of  their  nature,  many 
who  were  originally  good  become  bad.  For  men  are  changed 
by  the  companions  whom  they  hold  most  dear,  by  a  certain 
rubbing  against  them,  as  it  were  an  infection,  while  they  do  not 
persevere  in  resistance  to  it.  They  are  polluted  by  the  taste  of 
pleasures.  In  short,  they  are  changed,  because  the  body  always 
exerts  an  influence  upon  the  mind  and  represses  it  by  its 
weight,  unless  it  is  supported  by  the  mighty  stimulus  of  teachers^ 
and  right  exercise.  Wherefore  it  was  said  by  Solomon,  "  Un- 
certain is  the  course  of  youth."  In  public  academies  the  boy 
The  causes  ^^  ^^  ^^^  prone  to  vice  naturally,  is  pushed  on 

of  corruption        either  by  depraved  companions  and  friends  or 
pupi  s.  ^^  ^  certain  vicious  inclination  of  the  mind ;  and 

when  once  he  has  begun  to  go  to  ruin,  whatever  things  meet 
him  hurry  him  forwards,  and  struggle  to  tumble  over  with  him. 
If  they  have  teachers  or  masters,  severe,  diligent  and  watchful 
in  their  duty,  these  youths  become  hardened  to  their  warnings 
of  word  and  rod,  and  treat  them  as  of  no  account.  They  are 
goaded  on  by  their  companions  to  endure  chastisement  or  the 
sweetness  of  pleasure  impels  them  to  incur  it.  Hence  the 
schoolmaster  is  hated  as  the  cause  of  the  hindrance  of  their 
desires,  and  when  the  boy  is  somewhat  freed  from  restraint  he 
shows  himself  troublesome  to  the  teachers,  as  says  Horace". 
For  he  is  not  kept  to  his  duty,  but  to  a  certain  pretence  of 
duty,  at  which  fear — the  worst  guardian  of  duty — compels  him 
The  morals  ''^  remain,  and  when  fear  prevails  in  the  mind 

of  youth  it  makes  him  a  worthless  slave.     For  he  does 

shattered.  ,  .  ,  ,         .     - 

nothmg  under  the  mfluence   of  the   beauty  of 

^  Institutiones  OratoriaehV  I,  cap.  i,  and  Lactantius  I,  i. 
2  "  Monitoribus  asper,"  Horace,  de  Arte  Poetica  1.  163. 


68  Schools  [book  ii 

virtue,  or  of  what  is  next  best,  the  hope  of  praise.  Therefore  he 
does  not  take  pains  with  his  studies,  nor  does  he  concern  himself 
with  that  which  ought  to  he  done  ;  but  the  body  being  the 
chief  thing,  his  mind  wanders  to  its  wishes  and  even  drags  the 
body  along  with  it,  if  only  fear  departs  for  a  little  while  he  is 
exactly  like  a  young  colt  who  is  perpetually  trying  to  shake  off 
his  bridle,  his  horse-cloth  and  his  rider.  If  by  any  means  he 
is  able  to  rid  himself  of  his  master  or  tutor,  he  thinks  he  has 
won  a  great  victory  and  is  freed  from  burdensome  slavery. 
What  joy  he  feels  !  what  congratulations  and  applause  does 
he  receive  from  his  abandoned  companions!  Then  he  wanders 
about,  and  strays  unrestrained  in  the  indulgence  of  every  kind 
of  vice,  and  dashes  against  the  rocks  of  pleasure,  like  a  ship  in 
a  great  tempest  of  waves  with  its  rudder  broken  and  its  pilot 
drowned.  Youths  pretty  well  grown  up  are  not  checked  in 
academies  by  teachers  and  masters.  Perhaps  the  latter  do  not 
dare,  for  fear  the  pupils  may  change  their  school  and  transfer 
their  paltry  money  to  another ;  how  much  less  do  they  restrain 
the  rich?  For  many  learned  men  have  regard  to  their  own  profit, 
and  not  to  the  instruction  of  the  pupil.  As  the  result  of  these 
conditions,  besides  the  corruption  of  the  minds  of  the  youths 
„  .,      .  .  and  the  passino;  on  of  vice,  which  is  a  great  and 

tvils  arising  .  . 

from  bad  special  evil,  further  consequences,  which  are  by  no 

nnging-up.  nieans  trifling,  ensue — the  loss  of  the  property  of 
the  poor  father,  who  perhaps  was  providing  for  other  children 
by  the  sweat  of  his  brow.  For  to  the  eldest  son  the  father,  so 
far  as  his  narrow  income  allows,  is  generous,  and  brings  him 
up  carefully  and  cherishes  him  to  be  as  it  were  the  staff  of  his 
old  age  and  the  support  of  the  whole  family  ;  and  he  hopes 
that  by-and-by  this  son  will  pay  back  with  good  interest  to  his 
brothers  what  was  taken  away  from  them  in  order  to  give  him, 
alone,  leisure  for  study.  Then  after  a  long  time,  when  all 
the  money  is  spent,  the  real  state  of  things  appears,  and  all  the 
hope  of  the  old  parent  is  futile  and  vain.  To  the  loss  of 
money  there  is  added  the  irreparable  loss  of  time.     The  best 


CHAP,  ii]  The  Ideal  School  69 

years  of  life,  and  those  most  fitted  for  learning,  have  slipped 
away  without  fruit.  The  youth  himself  is  growing  in  years, — 
and  in  ignorance  and  in  hatred  of  learning.  Nor  does  he  who 
was  once  a  scholar,  that  is  a  dominus  and  free,  allow  himself 
to  be  entered  upon  some  trade  or  to  do  any  work  with  his 
hands.  He  returns  home,  a  coarse  and  savage  beast,  steeped 
in  ignorance,  arrogance,  incivility,  want  of  knowledge,  and 
^^       ^  j^  baseness,  with  a  mind  eager  for  every  kind  of 

of  vicious  wilfulness  and  vice;  and  in  consequence  of  that 

^"^^  ^'  hfe,  given  over  entirely  to  all  kinds  of  obscenity, 

he  is  worn  away  by  diseases.  Before  he  left  school  he  had 
shaken  off  all  shame  and  reverence,  first  for  teachers,  then  for 
parents,  then  for  friends  and  for  his  whole  country ;  both  be- 
cause of  his  daily  habit  of  sinning,  which  cast  out  all  regard 
for  virtue  from  his  breast,  and  also  because  he  frequently 
received  from  all  his  relatives  in  the  country  most  loving  and 
respectful  letters,  written  as  to  a  "  man  distinguished  for  his 
learning."  And  if  such  youths  have  had  recalled  to  their  minds 
a  better  course  of  conduct,  they  resist  it  and  despise  other  people 
as  if  they  were  rude  and  ignorant,  and  cannot  bear  to  be 
advised  by  anyone  of  those  who,  so  many  times,  in  their  humility 
have  confessed  themselves  to  be  their  inferiors  in  knowledge 
and  practical  wisdom.  In  order  that  they  may  act  more 
.     ,     .  freely  and  be  under  no  superior,  they  buy  some 

Academic  ^  . 

grades  of  degree  of  scholastic  honour,  (and  this  is  a  piece 

of  unbridled  and  unrestrained  arrogance),  while 
the  father  of  the  scholar  often  applauds  and  rejoices,  taking 
the  semblance  for  the  realif^  and  not  knowing  the  significance 
of  what  is  taking  place.  When  the  course  of  their  insolence  is 
quite  completed  they  leave  the  country,  and  they  fear  and  hate 
the  parents  who  have  begun  to  realise  their  disgrace.  They 
are  the  enemies  of  learned  men,  by  whom  they  see  themselves 
equalled  and  surpassed  not  only  in  estimation  but  also  in 
learning,  and  the  Hght  of  the  learned  reveals  more  clearly  their 
own  darkness  and,  as  it  were,  convicts  them  of  guilt.    They 


JO  Schools  [book  II 

are  the  very  worst  class  of  men,  because  they  are  ignorant  and 
insolent. 

More  favourable  conditions   obtain   in  the  home ;    tender 

bodies  are  nourished   more   healthily,   and  the 

favoi^aWe  homc  is  morc  beneficial  for  the  health  and  for 

conditions  developing  growing  strength.     Children  are  edu- 

of  the  home.  i       e>  ti  &  h 

cated  more  liberally  and  purely  amongst  old  and 
prudent  men.  There  are  also  lesser  advantages.  Daily  inter- 
course with  their  parents  will  not  suffer  respect  for  them  to 
pass  away.  The  father  will  easily  preserve  and  guard  reverence 
for  himself  in  his  son,  whom  he  sees  every  day  and  to  whom 
he  gives  his  command,  with  the  authority  of  his  fatherhood. 
Every  single  day  that  right  will  be  renewed,  as  it  were  by  use 
and  custom  of  possession  \  Love  also  will  be  increased  if 
either  the  son  is  naturally  good,  or  sees  in  his  parent  some 
tokens  of  uprightness  and  wisdom.  The  piety,  which  charac- 
terises the  parents,  will  diffuse  itself  in  those  who  are  joined  to 
them  by  blood.  Therefore  if  their  disposition  is  evil,  there  is 
need  for  fear;  for  what  has  more  influence  than  the  disposition 
of  parents  and  relatives,  imbibed  with  the  milk  and  confirmed 
with  age?  But  if  the  disposition  be  noble,  it  will  be  led  on 
by  love.  What  influence  is  greater  than  that  of  parents  and 
relatives?  Many  have  been  led  to  do  well  from  no  other 
cause  than  respect  for  their  parents,  and  a  desire  to  make 
them  happy:  as  Plutarch^  writes  concerning  Martins  Coriolanus. 
The  memory  of  such  men  as  these  is,  even  to  the  remotest 
regions,  an  incitement  to  many  to  conduct  themselves  in 
accordance  with  the  sentiments  of^iich  heroes. 

The  disposition  of  the  boy  and  what  he  is  specially  fitted 
Relatives  for,  Can  be  found  out  by  relatives  and  friends, 

must  sound         ^^^  j.j^g  j^^y  himself  will  every  day  give  many 
disposition.         signs  of  it.     If  he  is  not  apt  at  his  letters  but 

1   Rightly    says    Terence    in    Attdria    I,     126:    Qui    scire    possis,    aut 
ingenium  noscere,   Dum  aetas,  metus,  magister  prohibebant. 
"  Plutarch's  Lives,  Justin,  bk  vi,  Valerius  Maximus  ill,  2. 


CHAP,  ii]  The  Ideal  ScJiool  yi 

trifles  with  the  school  tasks,  and  what  is  more  serious,  wastes 
his  time,  let  him  be  early  transferred  to  that  work  for  which 
he  seems  fitted,  in  which  he  will  occupy  himself  with  more 
fruitfulness,  and  will  be  amongst  the  thoroughly  trained,  whom 
the  Greeks  used  to  call  TratSo/Aa^ets.  In  young  boys  also. 
The  method  of  l-"^dding  faults  will  be  met  with;  the  flexible 
bringing  boys  mind  must  then  be  formed  in  accordance  with 
what  is  right.  Parents,  relatives  and  the  father's 
friends  may  by  their  authority  easily  preserve  reverence  for 
teachers  and  country.  Those  of  the  same  age  as  the  boy  have 
less  influence  to  corrupt  him ;  for  he  and  his  companions, 
wherever  they  go,  meet  with  those  in  whose  charge  the  boy  is, 
and  he  is  dragged  back  by  them  before  he  falls.  If  he  begins 
to  shp,  love  will  take  hold  of  him  with  its  gentle  hand.  If 
this  does  not  suffice,  reverence  and  fear  will  come  to  his  help, 
and  these  having  been  imbibed  from  earliest  infancy  and  con- 
firmed by  habit,  there  will  not  be  the  hope  or  even  a  wish  to 
be  released  from  them.  Thus  the  son  is  so  devoted  to  his 
father  by  influence  and  authority  that  he  loves  and  reverences 
him,  and  would  not  think  it  right  to  wish  not  to  reverence 
him.  The  rod  of  discipline  will  be  constantly  raised  before 
the  eyes  of  the  boy  and  around  his  back,  for  it  has  been  wisely 
declared  by  Solomon'  that  it  is  specially  good  for  that  age,  and 
extremely  salutary.  At  the  same  time,  through  this  manner  of 
life,  love  for  his  parents  and  his  country  will  burn  very  brightly 
in  his  heart,  and  he  will  wish  to  consult  the  interests  of  his 
country  in  whatever  is  most  pleasant  and  dear  to  it,  and  when- 
ever he  has  an  opportunity,  he  will  do  all  the  good  he  can 
for  its  progress. 

^  Proverbs  xiii.  24. 


CHAPTER    III 

CHOICE   OF    PUPILS 

When  and  by  whom  boys  should  be  instructed  before  they  proceed  to  the 
Academy.  Under  what  conditions  they  should  be  admitted.  A  won- 
derful variety  of  dispositions  is  shown  in  boys.  Reception  of  boys 
into  the  Academy.  Choice  of  wits.  \'arieties  of  dispositions. 
Abilities.      Methods  of  judging  boys'  powers  and  character. 

For  these  reasons  and  considerations,  the  course  I  advocate 
is  as  follows  : 

Let  a  school  {Indus  literarius)  be  established  in  every 
A  school  township,  and  let  there  be  received  into  it  as 

{ludus)  to  be         teachers  men  who  are  of  ascertained  learning, 

established  .    ,  ,  ,  t  i      •  i  i 

in  every  uprightness  and  prudence.     Let  their  salary  be 

township.  pjjj^   jQ   tiiern  from  the   pubhc   treasury.      Let 

boys  and  youths  learn  from  these  men  those  arts  which  are 
suited  to  their  age  and  tastes  ;  but  let  their  training  for  service 
to  their  country  and  their  whole  education  in  civil  life  be  given 
by  wise  old  men,  as  formerly  at  Rome.  For,  as  it  is  recorded 
by  Plutarch  in  his  Problems,  "the  ancients  considered  it  an 
honourable  thing  to  educate  their  relatives  and  friends."  If  any 
youths,  on  account  of  alertness  of  wit  and  good- 

When  youth  .    ,  ,      .  ,.  ,  , 

should  be  ness,  are  quick  at  their  studies,  when  the  transition 

sent  to  the  stage  from  boyhood  to  youth  has  been  reached, 

Academy.  .  .  ^  . 

when  their  minds  are  now  strengthened  by  right 
opinions  about  affairs,  and  are  now  prepared  and  fortified,  let 
these  be  sent  under  auspicious  circumstances  to  the  Academy. 
And  if  anyone  is  sent  earlier,  because  it  is  thought  that  he 
cannot  be  conveniently  taught  at  home,  let  him  go  with  a  tutor 


CHAP.  Ill]  Choice  of  Pupils  y^ 

whom  he  can  reverence  as  his  father;  on  the  other  hand,  let 
the  tutor  show  himself  worthy  of  reverence  by  his  practical 
wisdom  and  ability,  and  worthy  of  love  by  his  kindness,  but  let 
him  beware  above  all,  to  the  utmost  of  his  power,  not  to  bring 
upon  himself  the  dislike  of  his  charge.  Now  let  us  go  on  to 
speak  about  the  instruction  itself 

When  a  boy  is  taken  to  school,  let  the  father  know  what  he 
What  the  ought  to  consider  as  the  fruit  of  studious  labour ; 

father  ought        surclv,  not  honour  or  money,  but  the  culture  of 

to  be  clear  -' '  •'  . 

about  in  his  the  mind — a  thmg  of  exceedmg  great  and  in- 
r^ardi^g  comparable  value— that  the  youth  may  become 

his  son.  more  learned  and  more  virtuous  through  sound 

teaching.  Therefore  if  he  brought  with  him  to  the  school 
any  baser  idea,  let  him  return  home  persuaded  that  he  now 
expects  higher  and  greater  things  of  his  son.  Let  the  boy 
be  taken  under  the  condition  that  he  is  to  be  tried  for  some 
months  ;  for  when  this  is  done  in  the  case  of  men-servants 
and  women-servants,  and  those  who  place  plates  and  dishes  on 
the  table,  how  absurd  it  is  that  it  should  not  be  done  in  the  case 
of  those  who  can  only  become  learned  at  so  much  greater  cost 
both  to  themselves  and  others.  In  determining  the  instruction 
to  be  given  to  each  person,  the  disposition  is  to  be  regarded ; 
the  close  consideration  of  this  subject  belongs  to  psychological 
inquiry \  I  will  therefore  borrow  some  remarks  from  the 
treatise  I  have  written  on  this  subject  {de  Anima).  Natural 
Concerning  powcrs  of  the  mind  are:  sharpness  in  observing, 

mental  ability,  capacity  for  comprehending,  power  in  comparing 
and  judging.  Nothing  physical  is  more  similar  to  under- 
standing than  the  eye ;  the  one  is  the  light  of  the  mind,  the 
other  of  the  body.  In  the  eye  is  the  power  of  seeing  all  those 
things  which  are  dim  in  colour,  and  that  is  called  sharpness. 
There  are  some  who  have  very  great  power  in  discerning 
separate  and  scattered  things,  but  cannot  grasp  many  things 
together,  or  if  they  do  grasp  them  for  a  short  moment,  yet  do 
'  Quintilian,  Ins  tit.  Orat.  i,  3. 


74  Schools  [book  ii 

not  retain  them.  But  often  those  who  see,  who  grasp  and 
retain  images  of  things,  cannot  I)ring  things  into  relation  with 
one  another ;  nor  can  they  judge  what  the  quaUty  of  a  thing 
is  by  comparison  of  it  with  others.  Just  so  is  it  with  natural 
Variety  abilities   of  the    mind.     For,   some    minds    are 

of  minds.  acute  and  see  separate  things  clearly,  but  cannot 

gras[)  them  nor  retain  them  when  they  are  connected;  their 
comprehension  is  narrow,  or  their  memory  short  and  fleeting. 
Others  grasp,  but  do  not  reflect  on  those  things  which  are 
intuited,  so  as  to  judge  and  determine  their  nature  and  pro- 
perties.   And  just  as  eyes  are  Wind  or  weakened 

Comparison  of       '^  ...  .      , 

the  eye  with  by  recurring  injuries,  so  mmds  partly  become 
the  mmd.  Stupefied    through    folly    and    perpetual    torpor, 

and  partly  at  certain  intervals  they  are  scarcely  sane ;  only 
that  he  who  suffers  from  bUndness  or  a  defect  of  the  eyes 
knows  it,  but  he  who  is  sick  with  a  disease  of  the  mind  does 
not  know  it,  and  if  it  is  pointed  out  to  him,  does  not  beheve 
it.  In  a  disease  of  the  body  the  mind  which  is  able  to  judge 
al)0ut  it  is  not  sick,  it  is  otherwise  in  the  disease  of  the 
mind — the  mind  itself  being  affected — it  is  not  able  to  pass 
judgment  concerning  itself.  The  understanding  is  not  to  be 
trained  by  means  of  evil  things,  or  by  small  and  trifling  things. 
The  eve  does  not  always  discern  acutely,  even 

The  object  -'  ,.;:..,  .        ,         , 

before  the  whcu  it  looks  keenly,  if  It  IS  late  on  in  the  day 

'^'"'^'  or  in  the  darkness.     So  the  mind  is  not  to  be 

considered  acute  because  it  abounds  in  small  and  light  things, 
but  because  it  keeps  in  the  light  and  exercises  itself  about 
o-reat  things.  For  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  our  minds  are 
now  less  powerful  than  they  were  before  that  first  transgression. 
Now,  we  are  more  crafty  in  our  wickedness  :  as  saith  the  Lord, 
"  The  children  of  this  world  are  in  their  generation  wiser  than 
the  children  of  light'."  Therefore  noble  minds  do  not  give 
themselves  up  to  trifles,  but  keep  their  eyesight  even  in  the 
darkness  and  remain  prudent  men,  in  the  midst  of  their  playing. 
'  S.  Luke  xvi.  8. 


CHAP.  Ill]  Choice  of  Ptipils  75 

In  the  mind  are  observed  its  action  and  its  fnaterial  {ox  content), 
The  action  partly  Separately,  partly  conjointly.     From  these 

of  the  mind.  ^re  formed  the  desires  and  character.  In  action 
there  are  to  be  distinguished  intension  (or  concentration)  and 
extension,  i.e.  how  great  or  small,  how  short  or  long ;  how  quick 
or  slow  the  action  is.  There  are  some  minds  who  look  intently 
and  diligently  at  what  they  are  doing,  and  who  rejoice  to  get 
bound  up  in  their  work  ;  there  are  others  who  look  remiss  and 
Variet  d  ^^  ^^  ^^^^^  vvcrc  doing  something  else,  and  who, 
kinds  of  loose  and  free,  do  not  wish  to  exert  themselves  ; 

such  were  Ovid  and  Lucilius  as  Horace^  bears 
witness.  Such  are  those  who  are  of  an  airy  (flighty)  constitu- 
tion or  who  are  enervated  by  extreme  heat,  or  who,  oppressed 
by  flesh  and  the  heavy  burden  of  the  body,  avoid  the  labour  of 
attention  or  cannot  bear  it.  Some  discern  dimly,  others  clearly: 
the  latter  look  deeply  into  things,  and  are  said  to  have  "acumen" 
(or  sharpness  of  mind);  the  former  come  to  a  stop  at  the  most  ob- 
vious part  of  things,  and  are  said  to  be,  mentally,  dull  and  blunt. 
Some  scholars  find  the  first  beginnings  of  things  easy  but 
soon  are  perplexed,  over  whose  mental  eye,  as  it  were,  a  kind 
of  mist  spreads  while  they  are  working,  which  was  not  present 
when  they  came  new  and  fresh  to  the  work.  Others,  eager  and 
strong,  most  happily  continue  steadfastly.  Some  accept  as  joined 
those  things  which  they  see  together;  some  analyse  things  into 

their  separate  parts  by  a  close  examination,  which 

Subtlety.  .  '^  ^  . 

IS  called  subtlety.  There  are  some  who  at  the 
right  moment,  by  their  concentration,  strike  at  the  root  of 
things,  hasten  on  through  many  fields  of  knowledge  and  do 
not  stop  to  rest ;  others  linger  and,  as  it  were,  leave  their  foot- 
Swiftnessof  prints  behind.  There  are  some,  free  and  un- 
some  minds.  restrained,  who  quickly  pursue  what  they  want, 
e.g.  men  of  well-balanced  powers,  whose  minds  are  endowed 
with  such  vigour  that  they  see  at  a  glance  through  everything 
needed,  and  have  it  ready  to  hand,  of  which  kind  was  Vinicius, 

'  Satires  ii,  i. 


76  Schools  [book  ii 

of  whom  Augustus  said  tliat  "he  had  tlic  various  powers  of  his 
mind  as  ready  as  coins  in  the  hand'":  such  as  these  excel 
generally  by  their  skill  in  extemporising,  more  than  by  writing 
and  taking  pains,  e.g.  Cassius  Severus  and  Sulpitius  Cialba. 
Cicero-  and  Seneca  testify  that  tliis  happens  with  men  who  are 
not  so  much  studious  as  gifted  ;  for  the  mind  when  it  is  excited 
with  heat  brings  many  things  before  the  eyes  which,  when  it 
has  cooled  down  again,  steal  themselves  away.  Some  advance 
tardily  and  slowly,  but  at  length  arrive  at  their  goal,  and  of 
these,  some  with  their  slow  steps  advance  further  than  those 
who  were  before  them  in  their  course.  The  duration  of  action 
in  some  is  very  short  and  they  soon  come  to  a  stop,  e.g. 
impassioned  and  jejune  races,  such  as  the  Egyptians  and 
Persians;  in  others  it  is  longer  and  more  persistent,  as  in 
that  painter  "who  did  not  know  his  hand  from  his  picture," 
and  in  Didymus  the  grammarian,  who,  on  account  of  his 
stubborn  industry,  was  nicknamed  yakKivTi.po%.  There  are  some 
Changes  in  whose  alternations  of  leisure  and  activity  are  short 

the  mind.  jj^t  frequent.     Others  work  a  long  time  and  then 

rest  an  equally  long  time — like  Fortius  Latro-',  of  whom  Seneca 
writes.  When  such  men  burn  persistently  like  fire  they  fasten 
on  resinous  material,  but  when  they  have  burnt  themselves  out, 
they  remain  cold  for  a  long  time.  They  experience  these 
frequent  or  daily  changes  from  their  food  or  drink,  from  the 
state  of  the  weather  or  the  place,  or  from  the  condition  of  their 
bodies.     That  man  who  was  always  equable  they 

Onuses  of 

changes  in  used  formerly  to  call  a  "  man  of  every  hour"*.' 

the  mind.  Variations  of  mind  arise  from  the  different  nature 

of  each  person,  i.e.  of  the  constitution  and  temperament  of  their 

'  Jerome,  Epistle  to  Panimach  taken  from  .Seneca  ii,  de  clainai. 

'^  See    Cicero,    Bnilus,   sen   de   claris   oratorihtts.       -See    also    Seneca, 

^  Declamationes,  bk  X. 

••  See  Galen,  de  Tempcramentis.      Said  by  Quintiliaii  of  Asinius  Pollio 
and  Tiberius  Suetonius;  said  also  by  Erasmus  of  Sir  Thomas  More. 


CHAP,  [ir]  Choice  of  Pupils  'jj 

bodies.  The  consequence  is,  that  a  man  one  moment  may  be 
great  and  keen-witted,  and  the  next  moment  may  no  longer 
remain  so.  There  are  also  other  long  lasting  changes,  which 
are  resultant  on  the  time  of  life.  For  certain  persons  become 
better  with  years,  e.g.  Scipio  and  Polemon,  and  those  of  whom 
Valerius  reminds  us ;  others  become  worse,  e.g.  Hermogenes, 
an  orator  in  the  time  of  Antoninus  Augustus  who,  though  he 
was  most  eloquent  as  a  boy,  became  a  most  childish  youth'. 
Precocious  minds,  in  whose  childhood  there  was  a  moderate 
glow,  change  for  the  worse,  and  presently  if  either  excess  of 
drinking  or  corpulence  overwhelms  them,  they  become  stupid ; 
but  if  their  precocity  is  sharpened  or  there  is  a  growth,  especially 
around  the  brain,  they  become  insane.  It  is  better,  however, 
in  the  case  of  those  whose  fervour  in  the  beginning  is  excessive, 
if  it  is  gradually  tempered  and  becomes  lukewarm  ;  or  if  those 
whose  bodies  overflow  with  too  many  and  noxious  humours  are 
soon  purged  of  them.  It  is  well  the  most  delicate  and  lucid 
spirits  should  become  thickened;  lest  their  minds,  sharp  before 
the  time,  fly  where  they  ought  not  and  lest  they  should  not  be 
able  to  continue  at  work".  I  believe  this  is  the  reason  why 
Plato  chose  for  his  Academy  a  dense  and  heavy  cHmate, 
advantageous  to  the  subtle  and  light  Attic  minds  :  restraints, 
forsooth,  were  put  upon  them.  Those  persons  do  not  change 
whose  bodily  constitution  is  in  harmony  with  each  stage  of  their 
course  of  life. 

As  to  mental  material  (or  content),  some  persons  are  ex- 
The  subject-  cccdingly  clcver  in  things  which  are  done  by  the 
matter  about       hands.      (These  people  the  Greeks  call  yeipovp- 

which  minds  ,  ^        c-      ■,      ■,  . 

occupy  yiKOL.)      Such    boys    you    always    see    pamtmg, 

themselves.  building,  Weaving,  and  they  do  all  these  things  so 
well,  and  with  such  great  pleasure  that  you  would  think  they 
had  learnt  them  a  long  time.      Others  are  devoted  to  the  more 

^  Of  Trapezuntium  as  is  stated  in  his  life  l)y  John  Noviomagus.     On 
Hermogenes,  see  C.  Rhadiginus  xi,  40. 
-  From  Quintilian  I,  3. 

5—2 


78  Schools  [book  II 

suljlime  matters  of  judgment  and  reason,  incited  by  a  greater 
and  higher  mental  impulse,  and  from  their  boyhood  they  perform 
those  manual  arts  ineptly,  yet  they  understand  already  every 
word  which  they  hear,  and  promptly  and  quickly  discover  the 
reason  for  a  thing.  A  very  few  are  good  at  both  activities, 
though  there  are  some  of  this  kind.  Some  are  suited  to  a 
particular  branch  of  learning,  e.g.  poets  who  find  themselves 
embarrassed  in  attempting  fluent  prose.  I  have  known  men 
who  could  narrate  most  wittily,  yet  in  their  reasoning  were  most 
absurd.  Of  rare  quality  are  those  who  are  equally  capable  in 
all  the  material  of  the  mind,  not  only  in  hand-activities,  but  also 
in  those  which  require  a  special  intellectual  activity;  Plutarch' 
has  shown  that  the  mind  of  Cicero  was  of  this  quality. 

Again,  minds  are  to  be  regarded  in  their  material  and  in 

their  action.     Some  are  wonderful  in  trifles  and 

matter^and  Small  things,  captious,  cavillers,  subtle — in  great 

action  of  and  solid  things   they  do  nothing ;    e.g.   those 

who  in  matters  of  jest  are  talkative  and  of  ready 

wit,  but  in  serious   matters  you  would  say  they  were   quite 

Epigram-  stupid ;    of  this   class  are  certain   epigrammatic 

matists.  poets  and  scurrilous  men  \    of  such  a  man  one 

of  the  ancients  is  related  to  have  said  "that  he  would  more 

easily  become  a  rich  buffoon  than  a  good  father  of  a  family." 

Of  this  number  are  those  whose  minds  fly  over  the  tops  of 

things,  and  perceive  certain  minute  details  which  escape  the 

notice  of  others,  but  yet  do  not  penetrate  into 

Minds:  ■'  :  .  . 

(i)  Light,  the  very  heart  and  nucleus  of  the  thmg.     Certain 

(2)  Solid.  minds  are  acute,  but  their  sharpness  is  very  like 

the  sharpness  of  a  needle,  which  can  separate  into  four  or  five 
fibres  the  width  of  one  hair;  not  like  the  sharpness  of  a  sword, 
which  can  cleave  asunder  a  hard  and  solid  thing.  Those  men 
are  like  swords,  who  do  not  excel  in  jokes  and  light  affairs  yet 
are  great  in  serious  and  solid  matters,  e.g.  Demosthenes. 
Cicero  was  admirable  in  both  directions.     There  are  some  who 

^   Ii)  his  Life  of  Cicero. 


CHAP.  Ill]  Choice  of  Pripils  79 

cannot  endure  anything  serious.  They  were  not  so  by  nature 
but  they  have  accustomed  themselves  to  slack  ways,  such  as 
were  the  Milesians  and  Sybarites.  Thus,  in  arts  and  learning 
some  are  made  and  fitted  for  some  things,  and  very  little  fitted 
for  others.  Some  follow  their  teacher  quickly,  being  naturally 
gifted  and  thinking  modestly  of  themselves'.  Others  run  on 
before,  some  foolishly,  being  led  info  futile  conjectures  which 
they  consider  absolutely  established,  others  proceed  dexterously 
and  happily,  being  good  interpreters,  such  as  they  say  Chrysippus 
was,  who  required  from  his  teacher  nothing  but  dogmas";  he 
used  to  say  that  he  would  himself  find  out  reasons  to  support 
them.  Certain  persons  make  good  use  of  what  is  found  out  by 
others,  but  produce  nothing  themselves.  Such  are  devoted  to 
imitation  which  is  a  bad  thing  if  they  get  no  further,  though,  if 
we  believe  Quintilian",  it  is  a  sign  of  genius  in  boys  when  they 
imitate  what  is  good.  Some  people  are  better  at  inventing  views 
of  their  own  than  at  using  other  people's,  e.g.  certain  acute  men 
who  are  yet  unwilling  to  devote  their  mind  to  understanding 
and  examining  the  discoveries  of  others.  There  are  some 
who,  when  there  is  need,  can  do  both,  and  these  Hesiod  the 
poet  places  in  the  first  rank  of  good  men.  Those  men,  who 
carefully  pay  attention  to  the  works  of  others,  are  sharp-witted. 
For  most  of  these  phenomena  in  connexion  with  the  mind,  we 
can  find  parallel  examples  physically  in  the  sight  of  the  eyes. 
For,  as  I  suggested  in  the  beginning,  there  is  nothing  which  so 
helps  us  to  realise  the  reason  and  force  of  the  mind  as  the  eyes. 
Morals  also  change  the  natural  disposition  in  many  ways, 
for  the  constitution  of  the  body  has  a  great  influence  on  the 
strength  of  the  mind  and  it  is  from  the  body  that  the 
passions    take    their   rise.      But    the    ground    of 

The  power  ^  o 

and  sway  of        morals  is  twofold,  for  they   spring  either  from 

ec  ions.  ^^  nature  of  the   body  or  from  habit.     Some 

have  easily  aroused  feelings,  others  more  tranquil  ones;  and 

^  Quintilian  i,  3.  -  Diogenes  Laerlius  in  the  Life  of  Cleajithes. 

^  Bk  I,  cap.  3. 


So  Schools  [book  II 

in  the  latter,  all  affections,  as  it  were  by  turns,  rule  and  then 
have  their  fling.  In  the  original  feelings  arising  from  the  con- 
stitution of  the  body  some  are  inclined  to  what  is  good,  others 
to  evil.  In  some  men,  certain  feelings  occupy  the  kingdom  of 
the  whole  mind  to  such  a  degree  that  they  drag  to  themselves 
everything  that  enters  the  mind.  Just  as  when  the  stomach  is 
diseased  it  turns  whatever  comes  into  it  into  noxious  humours, 
so  those  minds  which  are  ashamed  to  learn  in  the  presence 
of  witnesses  are  twisted  aside  to  pride,  arrogance  or  ostenta- 
tion. Wisely  did  Bion^  say  that  Pride  is  an  impediment  to 
great  achievements.  Such  students  give  way  to  lust  or  evil 
desires,  or  to  depraved  ideas  or  sinister  interpretations.  Some 
have  minds  partly  right,  but  suddenly  a  feehng  rises  up  un- 
expectedly which  lays  its  hand  upon  them  and  compels 
them  to  turn  from  the  right  way.  Some  are  simple,  upright, 
good ;  some  crafty  and  crooked  ;  some  who  constantly  hide 
themselves;  some  who,  on  the  contrary,  always  push  them- 
selves forward.  With  some  minds,  fear  only  effects  anything  ; 
with  others,  kindness.  Some  minds  are  sensible,  sober  and 
temperate;  others  insane  and  furious,  and  this  either  habitually 
or  at  intervals.  Some  are  gentle,  others  fierce  and  eager; 
some  even  are  of  an  unbridled  nature.  Some  sustain  the  move- 
ments of  their  minds  by  just  and  great  undertakings,  and  these 
we  call  manly ;  others  l)y  slight  enterprises  or  none  at  all,  and  are 
turned  aside  by  a  slight  whiff  of  air :  these  are  called  childish 
and  fickle.  O  admirable  Author  of  such  great  variety  !  Thou 
Who  alone  hast  created  these  conditions  of  mind,  alone  knowest 
the  causes.  There  are  indeed  other  differences  of  minds,  but 
this  treatment  suffices  for  the  present. 

1  See  Diogenes  Laerlius,  bk  iv. 


CHAPTER    IV 

TEACHERS   AND   TAUGHT 

By  what  means  and  how  far  the  mind  and  nature  of  the  boy  may  be 
clearly  perceived.  For  there  is  scarcely  anyone  of  such  a  stupid 
disposition  that  he  will  not  profit  by  some  teaching,  if  there  be 
sufficient  care  given.  How  teachers  should  bear  themselves  towards 
their  pupils  and  what  they  should  first  teach.  Trial  of  wits.  Strong 
points  of  weak  boys.  The  relation  of  teachers  to  scholars.  What 
should  be  first  taught  ? 

Subject-matter  is  to  be  presented  to  the  boy  so  that  his 

How  the  mind      mincl  may  elevate  itself  by  movement  and  action. 

reveals  itself.        pgj.  nothing  of  this  nature  can  be  judged  of 

when  it  is  quiescent.    Pythagoras  introduced  Arithmetic,  which 

his    shrewdness    discovered.     Nothing   displays 

Arithmetic  is,         .,  ,  r     i  ■      i  i  i 

as  it  were,  the      ^^^^  sharpness  of  the  mind  so  much  as  a  ready 
Lydian  stone       method   of  reckoning,   and    slowness    of  mind 

of  wits.  .  °    , 

IS  proved  by  slowness  in  reckoning,  as  we  have 
seen  in  the  case  of  the  feeble-minded,  and  Aristotle  is  our 
authority  that  the  very  stupid  race  of  Scythians  cannot  count 
beyond  the  number  four,  while  we  name  the  numerals  beyond 
ten.  Therefore,  there  were  followers  of  wisdom  among  the 
Greeks  who  considered  that  a  man,  simply  because  he  knew 
how  to  reckon,  might  for  that  reason  be  called  AoyiKoV  t^wov. 
As  in  Latin,  rafi'o  means  both  'reason'  and  'computation,' 
so  with  the  Greek  word  Aoyos. 

Quintilian  considers  memory  to  be  an  indication  of  natural 
M  mor  ability;    he   says  it   consists  of  two  parts — viz. 

a  sign  of  ready    comprehension    and    faithful    retention'. 

^  ' '  ^'  The  former  is  undoubtedly  a  proof  of  keenness, 

the  latter  of  capacity.     Judgment  follows  gradually  afterwards. 
^  Vives,  de  Anima,  bk  li. 


82  Schools  [book  II 

Therefore  tlie  child  is  ordered  to  learn  by  heart,  then  to 
imitate,  according  to  what  I  have  said  above.  Children 
should  be  exercised  in  play,  for  that  reveals  their  sharpness 
and  their  characters,  especially  among  those  of  their  own  age 
and  who  are  like  them,  where  nothing  is  feigned  but  everything 
natural.  All  emulation  brings  out  and  discloses  the  state  of  the 
mind,  scarcely  otherwise  than  the  heating  of  the  plants  or  the 
roots  or  the  fruits  brings  out  their  special  fragrance  or  the  force 
of  nature'.  The  boy  should  be  taught,  through  play,  both  to 
rule  and  to  command.  As  says  Bias,  "the  office  proclaims  the 
man^."  The  Spaniards  rather  wisely  say  in  a  proverb  that 
"office  and  play  are  the  touchstones  of  minds."  Every  two 
or  three  months  let  the  masters  meet  together,  and  deliberate 
and  judge  with  paternal  affection  and  grave  discretion  concerning 
the  minds  of  their  pupils,  and  send  each  boy  to  that  work  for 
which  he  seems  most  fit.  If  that  is  done,  incredible  advantage 
will  ensue  to  the  whole  human  race.  Nothing  would  then  be 
done  badly  and  perversely  by  those  who  now  do  it  under 
compulsion  and  against  their  desires,  concerning  whom  is  the 
advice  of  the  wise  poet,  "say  and  do  nothing  against  your 
natural  bent=*"  ("Invita  Minerva").  All  things  indeed  will  be 
performed  in  the  best  manner  and  with  wonderful  happiness 
by  those  who  are  naturally  fitted  to  do  them.  When  unwilling 
minds  are  driven  to  uncongenial  work,  we  see  that  almost  all 
things  turn  out  wrong  and  distorted.  It  is  not  right  to  think 
too  much  about  having  a  great  number  of  scholars;  how 
much  better  it  is  to  have  a  little  salt  of  good  savour  than  a 
great  deal  that  is  insipid?  How  many  philosophers  have  been 
content  with  a  small  audience'*?  and  with  this  audience  they 

1  Quintilian  i,  3. 

■■^  Diogenes  Laeriius  in  his  life  of  Bias,  " Magistiatus  viium  ostendet." 

3  Horace,  de  Arte  Poelica  1.  385. 

■*  When  Zeno  understood  that  Theophiastus  was  held  in  thehighest  honour 
on  account  of  the  number  of  his  disciples  he  said  :  "  His  chorus  is  greater 
but  mine  sings  better.'"     Theophrastus  had  2000 — as  Laertius  says  in  bk  v. 


CHAi'.  iv]  Teachers  and  Taught  83 

used  to  discuss  most  acutely  and  wisely,  great  and  weighty 
subjects.  Our  Lord,  when  He  brought  to  the  world  the  wisdom 
and  salvation  of  God,  contented  Himself  with  a  company  of 
twelve  men.  In  truth  an  audience  of  any  size  whatsoever  will 
suffice  to  bring  glory  and  profit  to  a  teacher.  1  do  not  deny 
that  in  speaking  a  crowd  is  a  stimulus  to  the  mind,  but  speaking 
is  a  different  thing  from  teaching^  In  speaking,  I  observe 
that  orators  are  stirred  by  I  know  not  what  goads,  from  the 
desire  of  glory.  With  regard  to  doubtful  natural  dispositions, 
I  think  we  should  not  despair  about  the  evil  in  them  nor  yet 
trust  too  much  in  the  good.  Both  in  the  state  and  in  the 
school  there  are  many  examples  of  change  of  disposition  and 
character ;  still,  when  the  will  is  defective,  more  frequently 
changes  are  for  the  worse.  Because  a  boy's  mind  is  not  suffi- 
ciently apt,  it  is  not  therefore  a  matter  for  despair.  For  there  are 
some  minds  which  have  been  despised  and  yet 

■Wits  should  ,  ,  ,  ,        ^       ,      ^     .,  .  , 

be  tested  as         they  have  brought  forth  fruit,   sometime  later, 
to  their  future      When  a  father  has  many  sons,  let  him  not  at  the 

ability.  .       .  .  ■' 

beginning  destine  for  study  any  one  he  likes, 
just  as  he  would  take  an  egg  from  a  heap  to  boil  or  to  fry,  but 
the  one  who  in  his  own  opinion,  and  in  that  of  his  friends,  is 
best  suited  for  study  and  erudition.  Some  parents  (and  there 
is  nothing  more  ridiculous)  send  to  school  those  boys  who  are 
unfit  for  commerce  or  war,  or  other  civil  duties,  and  order  them 
to  be  taught ;  and,  what  is  a  most  impious  deed,  they  devote  to 
God  the  most  contemptible  and  useless  of  their  offspring,  and 
think  that  he  who  has  not  judgment  and  intellect  for  the 
smallest  and  most  trifling  matters  has  quite  enough  for  such 
great  duties.  When  the  boy  is  destined  for  study,  as  the 
father  ought  to  conceive  the  highest  hopes  of  his  son,  so  should 
the  teacher  of  his  pupiP.  But  there  will  be  a  difference,  because 
a  father's  love  is  generally  dim-sighted  and  even  blind,  while 
it  is  fitting  that  the  kindness  of  the  teacher  should  be  combined 
with  the  keenest  eyes.  No  boy  who  has  just  been  sent  to  school 
i  Quintilian  i,  2.  -  Idem  i,  i  at,  the  beginning. 


84  Schools  [book  II 

should  be  regarded  as  so  hopeless  that  he  ought  to  be  instantly 
expelled,  but  teachers  should  seek  to  help  his  progress,  if  not 
in  learning,  at  least  in  his  course  of  life. 

First  of  all  the  fundamental  truths  of  our  religion  should 
jg^  .^     .  ,  be  taught,  that  the  boy  may  know  how  weak  and 

the  foundation     ready  for  evil  he  is  by  nature ;  that  nothing  is, 
'"^  ^'  or  can  be,  of  any  value  without  the  help  of  God, 

to  Whom  he  must  pray  frequently  and  sincerely,  and  without 
Whose  help  he  must  not  hope  to  accomplish  anything.  How 
great  is  the  blindness  and  error  in  the  minds  of  the  multitude 
who  judge  concerning  what  is  good  and  the  value  of  things  ! 
Virtuous  opinions  must  be  instilled  into  the  empty  breast,  that 
we  are  the  enemies  of  God,  reconciled  to  Him  through  the 
cross  of  His  Son  ;  that  he  must  fear  God  as  being  almighty, 
reverence  Him  as  omniscient,  and  love  Him  as  a  beneficent 
Giver.  For  the  expounding  of  these  things  I  have  written  a 
little  book  called  Instructioti  in  Wisdom'^,  and  it  will  be  easy 
for  the  teacher  to  pick  out  for  the  use  of  his  pupil  little  flowers 
from  the  philosophers  and  sacred  authors,  as  it  were  from  the 
most  verdant  meadows.  Let  him  show,  again  and  again, 
how  it  is  recorded  that  this  life  is  a  perpetual  struggle,  fierce 
and  vehement;  that  the  passions  of  the  soul,  in  opposition  to 
reason,  are  always  girded  and  prepared  for  battle,  and  that  if 
they  conquer,  the  result  is  the  bitterest  perdition  to  man ; 
therefore,  much  must  be  said  and  done  against  them  constantly, 
lest  they  beat  down  our  strength'-.  It  cannot  be  told  how  many 
bad  passions  foolish  boys  let  arise  within  them,  thinking  that 
there  is  no  harm  in  them,  and  when,  after  they  have  become 
more  noticeable,  they  try  to  uproot  the  habits,  they  find  they 
have  undertaken  a  task  by  no  means  easy ;  for  the  passions 
put  forth  roots,  and  frequently  sprout  forth  anew.  And  since 
indeed  all  actions  are  pleasant  when  one  is  accustomed  to  them, 
what  folly  and  what  hopeless  madness  it  is,  not  to  become  ac- 
customed to  what  is  best,  especially  when  there  is  equal  labour 
^  Introditctio  ad  Sapientiani,  1524.  -  Quintilian  i,  2. 


CHAP,  iv]  Teachers  and  Taught  85 

in  accomplishing  good  and  bad  projects,  often  even  less  in  the 
good.  Even  if  the  effort  be  somewhat  great,  yet  the  reward  of 
a  noble  character  is  great.  Moreover,  the  habit  of  doing  right 
becomes  natural.  Let  the  boys  know  that  God  is  the  Rewarder 
of  all  right  actions^;  and  that  our  minds  and  thoughts  are 
manifest  to  Him,  so  that  a*s  far  as  their  age  permits,  they  may 
become  accustomed  to  do  nothing  for  the  sake  of  human  gain, 
but  rather  for  that  divine  and  eternal  reward. 

After  this,  let  the   teacher  see  Avho  are  fit  for  learning  ; 
who  are  not.     There  are  some  minds  which  are 

Minds  which 

areunsuited  stupid,  very  dull,  Tough  and  distorted.  It  is 
for  letters.  wonderful   and    pitiable    to   relate,  that  human 

minds  produce  good  fruit  more  easily  in  the  commoner  and 
more  worthless,  than  in  the  more  liberal  and  distinguished 
arts.  For  in  trade,  in  the  practice  of  artificers,  in  weaving, 
finally  in  the  manual  and  mechanical  arts,  we  see  fewer 
persons  spending  their  labour  in  vain  than 
suited  for  in  the  pursuit  of  learning.     What  shall  we  say 

letters.  ^^^  ^_^^  causes  of  this  ?    Is  it  because  in  humbler 

pursuits  the  mind  is  not  so  greatly  molested  by  the  passions, 
whilst  they  join  battle  with  it  when  it  attempts  the  greater  and 
more  noble  pursuits  ?  Or  is  it  because  the  mind  is  less  strained 
in  light  and  easy  pursuits  than  in  profound  and  lofty  matters,  so 
that  in  the  former  it  seems  to  roll  down  a  slope,  and  in  the  latter 
to  have  to  climb  up  steep  places?  If  in  gaining  learning  the 
mind  threw  off  all  care,  it  would  be  unrestrained  and  would 
wander  into  the  constant  degeneration  of  pleasures  and  other 
unsuitable  states  for  study.  Nor  are  those  persons  fit  for  study 
who  suffer  from  natural  defects,  e.g.  mad  people  or  imbeciles. 
These  will  soon  give  proof  that  they  should  be  sent  somewhere 
where  they  could  be  coerced  by  fear  and  blows.  A  boy  of  a 
depraved  disposition,  or  a  corrupter  of  others,  must  be  reformed 
before  he  may  be  joined  in  the  company  of  boys.  Minds  that 
have  too  delicate  and  fine  an  edge,  without  a  solid  background, 
^  Quintilian  i,  2. 


86  Sc/iools  [book  II 

or  those  of  narrow  capacity  should  not  be  fatigued  and  over- 
whehned  by  study  ;  just  as  a  hmcet  is  not  to  be  used  for  cleaving 
wood,  and  as  a  weak  eye  should  not  be  fatigued  by  intent  gazing. 
Some  boys  are  not  fit  for  study  at  one  lime  but  are  at  another, 
and  vice  vefsa.  A  crafty  man  or  one  given  to  deceit,  or  one  who 
will  turn  everything  to  wickedness,  is  better  kept  away  from 
studies,  which  will  be  in  him  only  the  instruments  of  many  evil 
deeds.  He  who  is  by  nature  ashamed  to  learn  is  not  always 
unfitted  for  it,  but  he  learns  little  ;  he  must  be  shown  wherein 
his  ignorance  lies,  and  be  made. to  recognise  it,  so  that  he  may 
wish  to  learn.  If  even  thus  his  arrogance  is  not  weakened, 
he  must  be  put  to  those  arts,  the  ignorance  of  which  he  is  not 
able  to  hide  and  which  he  must  learn,  whether  he  will  or  no; 
and  in  his  hearing,  pride  should  frequently  be  confuted  and 
censured  as  a  most  foolish  thing.     Those  who 

Reverence  .  ° 

for  the  teacher  dcspisc  their  mastcrs  are  most  impudent,  more 
y  's  pupi  .  ^j.  ^^^.  ^j^^  plough  than  for  books,  for  working  in 
the  field  a,nd  the  woods  than  for  the  company  of  men.  He 
who  does  not  at  first  respect  his  master,  at  length  will  come  to 
reverence  him  as  another  parent  of  his  mind.  A  frolicsome 
boy  must  be  recalled  to  his  duty,  not  expelled  ^  Of  the  different 
kinds  and  forms  of  mind,  some  kinds  of  discipline  suit  one,  some 
another,  as  we  have  shown  above  ;  certainly  there  will  be  none 
which  is  incapable,  at  least  of  learning  languages.  Up  to  this  point, 
the  boy  has  been  prepared  for  religious  knowledge  and  for  initia- 
tion into  learning.  Now  he  is  to  be  admitted  to  the  mysteries. 
The  affection  of  the  master  for  his  pupil  will  be  that  of 
.„     .       ,  a  father;    he  will  love  him  truly  and  from  his 

Affection  of  '  •' 

the  master  heart,  as  if  he  were  his  own  offspring.     Does 

IS  pupi  .  j_^^  indeed  who  gives  birth  to  the  body  do  more 
for  the  child  than  he  who  stirs  the  mind  to  action  ?  In  truth, 
in  so  far  as  the  mind  is  more  truly  the  essential  part  of  the  man 
than  the  body  the  teacher  may  be  said  to  be  more  truly  the 
parent.  For  we  are  not  men  because  of  our  bodies  which  we 
'   t^uintilian  II,  2. 


CHAP,  iv]  Teachers  and  Taught  87 

have  in  common  with  the  brutes,  but  in  consequence  of  the 
hkeness  of  our  mind  to  God  and  the  angels.  For  this  reason 
Alexander  of  Macedon^  acknowledged  that  he  owed  more  to 
Aristotle  than  to  Philip  ;  from  the  latter  he  derived  his  body, 
but  from  the  former  his  mind.  The  Apostle  Paul  says  that  he 
"  had  begotten  in  the  Lord  "  those  whom  he  led  to  virtue.  But 
this  paternal  love  will  not  be  blind,  but  observant  and  even 
keen,  so  that  it  may  detect  all  tendencies  in  the  pupil  which 
ought  to  be  strengthened,  or  changed  and  amended. 

Let  it  be  firmly  fixed  in  the  boys'  minds  that  what  they  are 
What  opinion  going  to  receive  at  school  is  the  culture  of  the 
^thoyT^  mind,  i.e.  of  our  better  and  immortal  part ;  that 

should  have         this  culture  has  been  handed  down  from  God  to 

rcspcctinsf 

the  office  of  the  human  race,  as  the  greatest  gift  of  His  fatherly 
education.  indulgence,  and  that  it  could  not  have  been  given 

from  any  other  source,  and  that  assuredly  this  is  the  pursuit 
and  way  in  following  which,  they  may  please  God,  and  attain 
to  Him  in  Whom  is  their  highest  happiness.  In  this  way  they 
will  love  such  culture  of  the  mind  and  recognise  it  as  necessary 
for  them,  and  reverence  and  adore  it  as  sacred  and  sent  down 
from  heaven.  They  will  then  enter  into  their  schools  full  of 
reverence,  as  if  into  holy  Temples.  Wherefore  the  masters  will 
take  all  the  precautions  in  their  power,  that  the  schools  shall 
not  be  allowed  to  become  worthless  through  play  or  to  be  con- 
taminated by  any  disgrace.  Boys  will  love,  cherish  and  trust 
the  masters  as  ministers  in  the  service  of  God  and  as  the  fathers 
of  their  minds.  Masters  will  easily  gain  love  by  their  pleasant- 
ness of  manner,  reverence  by  their  worth  as  teachers  and  by 
their  upright  life.  It  is  incredil)le  what  great  influence  the 
affections  of  the  master  and  the  pupil  exercise  upon  both  good 
teaching  and  good  learning. 

In  teaching  the  arts,  we  shall  collect  many  experiments 
Whence  the  and  observc  the  experience  of  many  teachers, 
arts  afe'to^be  ^^  ^^^^  ^^0^^  them  general  rules  may  be  formed, 
collected.  If  some  of  the  experiments  do  not  agree  with  the 

^  Plutarch,  Life  of  Alexander. 


88  Sc/ioo/s  [iJOOK  II 

rule,  then  the  reason  why  this  hajjpcns  nnisl  be  noted.  If  the 
reason  is  not  apparent,  and  there  are  some  deviations,  they  must 
be  noted  down'.  If  there  are  more  deviations  than  agreements 
or  an  equal  number,  a  dogma  must  not  be  established  from 
that  fact,  but  the  facts  must  be  transmitted  to  the  astonishment 
of  posterity,  so  that  from  astonishment" — as  has  been  the  case 
in  the  past — philosophy  may  grow.  All  the  arts  connected 
with  doing,  or  making  things,  are  best  acquired  from  observing 
the  actions  and  work  of  those  who  have  been  best  instructed 
in  them  by  nature,  study,  and  habit.  From  such  inventors,  as 
we  have  shown,  the  arts  were  born.  They  even  brought  them 
fortli  without  art,  l)ut  were  instructed  by  a  certain  unusual  force 
of  nature,  aided  by  their  own  diligence  and  practice.  Thus 
from  their  use  by  Cicero  and  Demosthenes,  rhetorical  precepts 
were  gained  ;  poetry  from  Homer  and  Virgil.  But  he  who 
writes  on  every  art  and  expounds  its  rules  must  withdraw  his  eye 
from  experiments  and  direct  his  sight  to  nature  herself,  so  that 
he  may  learn  and  teach  more  accurately  than  is  customary*'. 
Cicero  himself  said  that  this  would  be  his  method  for  training 
the  best  orator.  For  in  nature  there  is  an  absolute  model, 
which  each  mind  expresses  as  well  as  his  genius  and  diligence 
will  allow  him  :  some  more  than  others,  yet  no  one  completely 
and  perfectly. 

In    teaching   the    arts    the   most  effectual  order  must  be 
followed,  so  that  the  hearers  may  easily  learn  and 

The  order  '  ... 

of  teaching  easily  retain.    The  material  being  rightly  arranged 

precepts.  ^.j^^^  ^^^  j^^  naturally,  and  since  they  see  that 
what  follows  grows  as  it  were  out  of  what  precedes,  they  receive 

(I)  On  the  ^1^  ^^  being  quite  certain.     What  this  method  is 

method  of  and  liow  it  is  to  be  used  in  orations,  has  been 

What  should  shown  to  US  in  books  on  the  art  of  speaking 

be  inculcated.  ,  ^^^^    DicemU   Methodo).      But   since    everything 

^  As  Aristotle  teaches,  Metaphysics  I,  i. 

-  This  Aristotle  teaches  in  Mefaphys'us  I,  2.     Plato  in  tlie    Theaeteiiis 
and  Plutarcli  in  the  dc  Auditiouc,  Horace,  Epist.  6. 
'■'  Arist.  MetaphysHs,  i,  1. 


CHAP,  iv]  Teachers  and  Taught  89 

should  lead  to  piety,  let  the  master  remember,  whatever  he 
is  doing,  that  he  is  a  Christian,  and  let  him  turn  away  and 
hide  whatever  is  contrary  to  a  good  mind,  and  always  say  what 
is  conducive  to  good  morals.  Poets,  e.g.  Virgil  and  Lucanus, 
in  the  midst  of  their  works  introduce  pleasant  fables,  even 
when  they  are  dealing  with  serious  topics,  so  that  the  reader 
should  not  forget  that  still  they  are  writing  as  poets.  Should 
it  not  then  occur  to  us  when  teaching  in  every  subject  that  we 
always  are  sworn  to  Christ  ? 

The  authority  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  is  to  be  impressed 
The  authorit  ^^"^'^^  great  awe  on  the  hearts  of  the  pupils, 
of  the  Holy  SO  that  whcn  they  hear  anything  out  of  them, 

crip  ures.  they  may  think  that  they  hear  the  almighty  God 

Himself  From  them  the  master  will  choose  some  passages  to 
be  as  it  were  remedies  of  diseases,  as  far  as  he  thinks  will  suffice. 
When  a  trained  power  of  judgment  is  necessary,  he  must  not 
choose  unsuitable  passages  which  are  beyond  the  understanding 
of  the  boys'  age.  And  if  Plato,  Aristotle,  Xenophon,  Cicero, 
and  other  philosophers  cite  evidence  from  Homer  and  other 
Their  supreme  poets  to  confirm  their  own  opinions,  how  much 
authority.  more  fitting  is  it  for  us  to  seek  in  the  oracles  of 

God,  not  only  evidence,  but  supreme  authority,  in  which  we 
cannot  be  deceived,  since  it  springs  from  infallible  wisdom? 
But  although  in  teaching  an  art,  the  most  perfect  and  absolute 
parts  are  always  to  be  propounded,  yet  in  teaching,  those  parts 
of  the  art  should  be  presented  to  the  audience,  which  are  most 
suited  to  their  capacities.  For  the  follower  of  an  'art'  ought 
to  fix  his  mind  on  the  highest  parts  of  it,  and  from  them  form 
its  standards,  and  every  student  should  hasten  in  pursuit.  But 
the  teacher  in  the  school  ought  to  look  at  his  audience,  not 
that  he  may  turn  away  from  the  art,  or  teach  the  false  instead 
of  the  true,  but  that  he  may  teach  those  topics  of  the  arts 
most  suited  to  the  capacity  of  his  pupils.  The  sacred  history 
of  the  Gospel  declares  to  us  that  the  Divine  Artist  and 
Master  adopted  both  methods  of  teaching'. 

'  On  the  subject  generally,  cf.  Quintilian. 


BOOK    III 

LANGUAGE   TEACHING 

CHAPTER    I 

LATIN    AND    OTHER    LANGUAGES 

Speech  the  index  of  the  Mind.  The  mother  or  vulgar  tongue  should  be 
learned  as  perfectly  as  possible ;  also  (in  Spain)  the  languages  of  the 
Arabs  and  Saracens.  The  Latin  language  is  praised.  At  what  age 
and  in  what  order  it  should  be  taught  to  boys.  To  this  knowledge  the 
study  of  Greek  is  a  great  additional  treasure.  An  opinion  on  Hebrew. 
Language  Teaching.  The  Mother-tongue.  Latin.  Heljrew.  Greek. 
The  ages  of  learning  and  the  order  of  teaching  Languages. 

The  first  thing  man  has  to  learn  is  speech.     It  flows  at  once 
from  the  rational  soul  as  water  from  a  fountain ^ 
^^^'^  '  As  all  beasts  are  bereft  of  intellect,  so  they  are 

also  lacking  in  speech.  Discourse  also  is  the  instrument  of 
human  society,  for  not  otherwise  could  the  mind  be  revealed, 
so  shut  in  is  it  by  the  grossness  and  density  of  the  body. 
Like  as  we  have  the  mind  by  the  gift  of  God,  so  we  have 
this  or  that  language,  by  the  gift  of  art.  And  so,  both  at 
home  by  parents,  and  in  school  by  teachers,  it  is  a  necessary 
task  to  give  boys  facility  in  good  enunciation,  as  far  as  their 
age  permits-,  lu  which  task  parents  will  be  a  great  help, 
if  for  the  sake  of  their  children  they  take  care  to  express  the 
feelings  of  their  minds  in  chaste  words  and  in  sound  and  apt 
oration ;  and  secure  that  nurses  and  governesses  do  the  like, 
and  those   amongst  whom  they  dwell,   so   that   they  do  not 

1  Aristotle,  Politics,  i,  i.  "  (luintilian  t,   i. 


CHAP,  i]      Latin  and  other  Languages  91 

speak  perplexingly,  absurdly,  barbarously,  and  do  not  manifest 
those  faults  of  pronunciation,  which,  if  imitated  by  those  of 
tender  age  will  cling  to  them.  Chrysippus,  on  this  account, 
even  wished  to  have  educated  women  chosen  as  nurses.  It  is 
of  great  importance,  says  Cicero,  what  each  one  hears  every 
day  at  home,  and  with  whom  the  boy  speaks,  for  he  will 
speak  in  the  manner  that  the  father,  pedagogues,  mother, 
speaks  This  has  no  slight  influence  on  the  learning  of  those 
languages  which  are  acquired  by  art,  in  its  effects  both  upon 
the  understanding  of  the  thoughts  of  others  and  upon  the 
expression  of  our  own. 

Language  is  the  shrine  of  erudition,  and  as  it  were  a  store- 
room for  what  should  be  concealed,  and  what  should  be  made 
public.  Since  it  is  the  treasury  of  culture  and  the  instrument  of 
human  society,  it  would  therefore  be  to  the  benefit  of  the  human 
A  universal  racc  that  there  should  be  a  single  language, 
language;  which  all  nations  should  use  in  common-.     If 

this  could  not  be  effected,  at  least  most  nations  and  peoples, 
certainly  we  Christians,  might  use  such  a  language  for  the 
purpose  of  being  initiated  in  the  same  religious  worship,  and 
also  for  furthering  commerce  and  general  knowledge.  It  was  for 
the  punishment  of  sin  that  so  many  languages  became  current. 
Such  a  language  as  that  universal  one,  just  suggested,  should 
be  sweet,  learned  and  eloquent.  Its  sweetness  is  in  the  sound 
of  words  whether  simple  and  separate,  as  well  as  in  the  com- 
bination of  words.  The  educative  value  of  a  language  is  in 
proportion  to  its  apt  suitability  for  supplying  names  to  things. 
Its  eloquence  consists  in  its  variety  and  abundance  of  words 
and  formulae ;  all  of  which  should  make  it  a  pleasure  for  men 
to  use.  It  should  have  the  capacity  to  explain  most  aptly  what 
namely,  the  they  think.  By  its  means  much  power  of  judg- 
^^*'"-  ment  should  be  developed.     Such  a  language  it 

1  Quintilian  I,    i  ;    Galen,    de    Temperai/ientis   II,   2    and    l^lutarcli,    dc: 
Liberis  Educandis. 

^  Augustine,  de  Civitate  Dei,  bk  xix,  chap.  7. 

F.  w.  6 


92  Language   Teaching  [book  hi 

seems  to  me  is  to  be  found  in  the  Latin  tongue,  above  all 
those  languages  whicli  men  emj^loy;  above  all  which  are  known 
to  me.  For  that  language,  whose  words  should  make  clear 
the  natures  of  things,  would  be  the  most  perfect  of  all ;  such 
as  it  is  probable  was  that  original  language  in  which  Adam 
attached  the  names  to  things^  For  these  are  the  true  appel- 
lations of  things,  as  to  which  it  is  written  in  the  sacred  psalm"-: 
"  Great  is  the  Lord,  Who  counteth  the  multitude  of  the  stars 
and  calleth  them  all  by  their  names.  Great  is  His  power,  and 
of  His  wisdom,  there  is  no  end." 

The  Crrt'/r/?«  of  Plato  points  to  this  opinion,  though  Aristotle 
gives  another  signification  to  it  in  his  book  De  Interprdatione'\ 
This  discovery  of  the  right  appellations  of  things,  beyond  every- 
thing else,  caused  the  admiration  of  Pythagoras. 

But  let  us  return  to  the  Latin  language.  That  language 
is  already  diffused  through  so  many  nations  ;  almost  all  sciences 
are  committed  to  its  literature.  It  is  rich  in  words  on  account 
of  its  cultivation  by  so  many  men  of  intellect  in  their  writings, 
for  they  have  increased  its  vocabulary.  It  is  of  sweet  sound 
and  is  weighty  in  utterance,  neither  rough  nor  crude,  as  is 
the  case  of  some  other  languages.  It  is  like  a  wise  and  Iirave 
man  who  has  the  good  fortune  to  be  born  in  a  well-taught 
state.  It  would,  therefore,  be  wrong  not  to  cultivate  it  and 
preserve  it.  If  it  were  lost,  there  would  result  a  great  confusion 
of  all  kinds  of  knowledge,  and  a  great  separation  and  estrange- 
ment of  men  on  account  of  the  ignorance  of  other  languages, 
since,  as  S.  Augustine  says,  each  would  prefer  to  converse  with 
his  dog  rather  than  with  a  man  of  an  unknown  tongue.  Also 
for  the  spreading  of  piety  it  is  most  useful  that  men  should 
understand  one  another.  Would  that  the  Agareni  (i.e.  Arabs) 
and  we  had  some  language  in  common  ;  I  believe  that  within 
a  short  time  many  of  them  would  cast  in   their  lot  with  us. 

1  Genesis  ii.  ly,  io\  Conrad  Gesner,  Mithridates;  Augustine,  dc 
Mirahil.  S.  Saiplu.    i,  9. 

-  Psalm  cxlvii.  4,  5.  "  Chaps.  2  and  4. 


CHAP,  i]      Latin  and  other  Languages  93 

For  the  cause  that  the  Lord  conferred  on  his  Apostles  the 
gift  of  tongues  was  this — viz.  to  help  on  the  unification  of 
races  in  the  same  faith.  For  faith,  as  Paul  says',  is  through 
what  is  heard,  for  which  language  is  the  instrument.  There- 
fore earnestly  would  I  wish  that  in  most  of  our  states,  schools 
of  languages  should  be  established  not  only  of  those  special 
three^  but  also  of  Arabic,  and  of  those  languages  which  may  be 
the  vernaculars  of  Agarenes,  which  men  of  no  easy-going  kind 
should  teach,  not  for  the  glory  thence  to  be  snatched,  and  for 
applause,  but  men  most  ardent  in  the  zeal  of  piety,  prepared 
to  spend  their  lives  for  Christ,  that,  through  their  instruction, 
Christ  should  be  proclaimed  to  those  nations,  who  have 
learned  very  little,  or  almost  nothing,  of  Him. 

Besides,  it  is  also  useful  tliat  there  should  be  some  language 
The  language  sacrcd  for  the  learned,  to  which  might  be  con- 
ofteachers.  signed  those  hidden  things  which  are  unsuitable 

to  be  handled  by  everybody,  and  thus  become  polluted. 
Probably  another  language  different  from  the  common  language 
keeps  these  matters  more  separate.  Although,  of  course,  in 
that  common  language,  there  are  retreats  by  way  of  metaphors, 
allusions,  enigmas,  and  methods  of  assertion  of  that  kind,  in- 
accessible to  ill-conditioned  and  sluggish  minds.  But  for  the 
grounds  and  reasons  stated,  the  Latin  language  should  be 
learned,  and  learned  exactly,  and  not  in  a  corrupted  form. 
For  if  corrupted,  the  language  forthwith  ceases  to  be  a  unity, 
portions  of  the  country  one  by  one  will  have  its  own  corrup- 
tions of  dialect  Latin.  Hence  it  will  happen  that  men  do  not 
understand  one  another,  and  do  not  understand  those  branches 
of  knowledge,  which  are  contained  in  the  Latin.  We  have 
found  by  experience  that  this  has  already  happened.  The  boy 
should  give  his  attention  to  learning  Latin  whilst  as  yet 
unfitted  by  the  feebleness  of  his  wits  to  the  understanding  of 
other  branches  of  scientific  knowledge,  i.e.  roughly  from  the 
seventh  to  the  fifteenth  year.      15ut  as  to  the  age  the  teacher 

^   RomaiLS  x.  17.  '  Latin,  Greek,  Helnew. 

6—2 


94  Language   Teaching  [hook  hi 

must  determine  more  exactly  by  the  boy's  power  and  progress. 
If  anyone  has  joined  Greek  to  the  Latin  language,  from  the 
two  he  will  receive  many  seeds  of  the  material 
of  knowledge  remaining  to  us,  so  that  from  the 
study  of  those  languages,  he  will  come  neither  crude  nor  new 
to  any  kind  of  knowledge.     Moreover  he  will  derive  discourse 
from   those   authors   in   which   there   are   not   and   cannot   be 
mere  words;  for  much  knowledge  of  different  kinds  of  studies 
is  necessarily  brought  together  in  the  words  of  their  books. 
By  the  same  application  to  labour  as  the  Latin  is  learned  he 
will  gain  the  Greek  language.     Add  the  fact  that  Greek  makes 
a  man  cultured  and  well-stored.    And  just  as  the  Latin  language 
is  able  to  build  up  and  increase  his  store  of  vocabulary,  so  the 
Greek  increases  and  adorns  the  knowledge  of  Latin  itself  and 
sometimes  in  other  directions.     It  is  necessary  to  the  perfection 
of  Latin,  not  otherwise  than  Latin  is  necessary  to  the  Italian 
or  Spanish  languages ;  nor  was  anyone  ever  thoroughly  skilled 
in  Latin  speech  unless  he  was  imbued  with  Greek.     For  from 
Greek  discourse  came  the  Latin  ;  from  the  Latin,  the  Italian, 
Spanish,  French  were  derived ;  for  which  nations  formerly  the 
Latin  language  was    the   vernacular.     So  we  recognise  that, 
in   its    usage,  the   Latin   language   became   more   fruitful   and 
eloquent   from   the   Greek,   and    the    remaining    languages    of 
Europe  from  the  Latin,  but  especially  those  three  languages 
which  1  have  just  named.     It  would  especially  help  on  these 
nations  if  they  became  accustomed  to  Latin  speech,  and  through 
speaking  Latin  they  came  to  understand  thoroughly  the  language 
itself,  and  through  it  came  to  learn  thoroughly  all  the  kinds 
of  knowledge  in  it.      From  the  knowledge  of  Latin,  too,  they 
would  render  the  native  language  of  their  fathers  more  pure 
and  rich,  even  as  a  copious  stream  is  derived  more  purely  from 
its  source.      How  many  matters  are  handed  down  to  memory 
in  Greek  literature,  in  history,  in  nature-knowledge,  private  and 
public  morals,  medicine,  piety,  which  we  drink  in  more  easily 
and    more   purely  from    those    very   sources   themselves?     If 


CHAP,  i]      Latin  and  other  Languages  95 

anyone  should  wish  io  join  to  these  languages  the  learning 
of  Hebrew,  for  the  study  of  the  Old  Testament,  there  is  nothing 
to  hinder  him,  provided  that  he  has  time  for  all,  and  if  he 
„  ,  has  confidence  that  he  can  acquire  it,  without 

Hebrew.  .  n  j 

becommg  corrupted,  for  I  hear  that  many  things 
have  been  falsified  in  Hebrew  writings  by  Jews,  partly  through 
their  hatred  of  Christ,  partly  through  inertia,  since  these  people 
so  often  change  their  abodes,  and  have  not  leisure  to  bestow 
due  labour  on  literature.  Certainly  if  you  consult  two  Jew^s 
as  to  the  same  passage,  rarely  do  they  agree.  I  would  wish 
the  Latin  language  to  be  known  thoroughly,  for  this  is  a 
benefit  to  society  and  to  the  knowledge  of  all  the  sciences. 
In  Greek  there  are  great  labyrinths  and  very  vast  obscurities 
study  of  "Ot  only  in  the  variety  of  dialects,  but  in  any  one 

dialects.  pf  them.     Attic  and  those  dialects  nearest  allied 

to  Attic,  are  the  most  necessary,  because  they  are  the  most 
eloquent  and  cultured,  and  whatever  works  the  Greeks  wrote, 
worthy  to  be  read  and  thoroughly  known,  are  consigned  to  these 
dialects.  The  poets  make  use  of  the  remaining  dialects  for 
their  songs,  but  their  knowledge  is  not  so  weighty,  especially 
since  there  are  not  only  such  great  differences  in  the  dialects, 
but  also  in  the  names  of  things  and  between  the  language  of 
their  prose  and  poetry,  that  they  do  not  seem  to  be  the  same 
language.  Not  undeservedly  does  Antonius  say  in  Cicero,  that 
he  dare  not  meddle  with  the  poets,  since  they  spoke  in  quite 
another  language.  The  best  of  the  poets  and  those  from  the 
reading  of  whom  comes  the  highest  reward,  are  the  Attic 
poets,  Euripides,  Sophocles,  Aristophanes,  and  what  is  left 
of  Menander.  If  anyone  be  gifted  with  ability  and  memory, 
aided  by  his  time  of  hfe  and  leisure,  with  knowledge  built  up 
by  diligence  and  study,  I  would  not  have  anything  denied  him. 
On  the  contrary  I  exhort  such  a  man,  under  such  happy 
conditions  to  undertake  the  labour  of  learning  languages  and 
the  study  of  all  kinds  of  sciences,  whatever  effort  he  may  have 
to   make.     If  anyone  of  crude  powers,  or  without  sufficient 


96  Language    Teaching  [hook  tii 

leisurt,  or  defective  in  aliility  or  iiieniory  has  taken  to  letters, 
for  him  the  Latin  language  will  suffice.  For  nothing  shoukl 
be  given  over  to  ostentation,  which  spoils  the  noble  fruit  of 
virtue,  as  with  a  pestilent  breath,  but  learning  should  serve  for 
use  and  necessity.  Nor  let  anyone  cite  me  the  example  of 
M.  Caio',  the  Censor,  who  is  said  to  have  begun  Greek 
literature  when  advanced  in  years,  and  to  have  acquired  not 
merely  the  elements  and  beginnings  of  discourse,  but  also  the 
power  of  the  reading  of  authors.  I'his  is  shown  by  the  words 
Cicero  makes  him  say  in  the  dialogue  De  Senectute.  For  when 
he  had  cjuoted  some  passages  from  the  principal  Greek  writers, 
which  he  could  not  have  understood  unless  well  advanced  in 
that  language,  he  adds :  "I  study  Greek,  so  that  I  may  be  able 
to  make  use  of  such  passages  as  those  I  am  now  quoting." 

In  a  language  which  is  in  the  continual  use  of  people  there 
is  no  necessity  to  frame  systematic  rules".  The  language  is 
learned  better  and  more  quickly  from  the  people  themselves. 
In  the  case  of  Latin,  there  are  some  points  noted  by  the  more 
learned  who  have  inferred  what  the  Latin  language  was,  when 
it  was  a  vernacular  and  mother-tongue.  But  rules  are  through- 
out for  the  guarding  against  mistakes,  and  speaking  inaccurately, 
in  dead  languages.  For  when  a  language  has  been  provided  by 
nature,  so  that  people  can  mutually  understand  each  other  in 
it,  grammar  will  have  this  use,  that  by  its  means  you  can  avoid 
the  mistakes  which  might  stand  in  the  way  of  a  mutual 
understanding.  Those  who  speak  Latin  and  Greek  correctly 
will  understand  one  another,  but  it  is  otherwise  with  those 
who  speak  those  languages  wrongly;  the  Spanish  barbarissans'^ 
is  not  understood  by  the  (lerman  barbnrissaus,  and  vice  versa. 

Grammatical  science,  like  all  other  sciences,  must  proceed 
from  those  who  themselves  know  the  language  better  than 
those  who  learn  it.     At  first  the  single  sounds  (vowels)  must 

^  Cicero,  de  Oratore,  bk  1. 

-  See  Horace,  de  Arte  Poetica ;  Gellius  I,  10. 

■*  One  who  speaks  the  Latin  language  incorrectly. 


CHAP,  i]      Latin  and  other  Langitages  97 

be   learned,   and   then   the    combination    of   sounds   together, 

i.e.  consonants,   which   are   formed   of  a   vowel 

art  and  how         together  with  an  incomplete  and  imperfect  sound. 

it  must  be  Then,  syllables.     Afterwards  the   boy  is   to   be 

learned.  ■'  ■'        , 

made  accustomed  to  name  letters  speedily  and 
sweetly,  and  to  combine  them.  Next,  you  may  show  him  in 
a  rough  way,  by  analogy  of  meanings,  what  are  called  proper 
nouns,  common  nouns,  substantives,  adjectives,  then  verbs, 
participles,  pronouns.  To  these  should  be  added  some 
systematised  scheme  of  adverbs  and  of  other  parts  of  speech 
according  to  their  meanings,  as  before.  Hereupon  follow  the 
declensions  of  nouns  and  the  conjugations  of  verbs.  Then 
will  begin  the  concordance  of  substantive  and  adjective,  noun 
and  verb.  Then  will  follow  the  rules  of  inflexions,  then  of 
gender,  then  of  the  conjugations  of  verbs.  When  all  these 
things  are  duly  understood,  let  a  little  Latin  book  be  put  in  his 
hands.  Let  this  be  in  free,  conversational  style,  pleasant, 
„,        ,.    ,         easy,  and  of  terse  discourse.     Let  him  learn  at 

The  method  ■" 

of  teaching  once  the  Older  of  words,  that   the  vocative  is 

grammar.  ^rsx,  then  the   nominative,  then   the   verb,  and 

the  other  parts  of  the  sentence.  For  this  is  the  best  and 
most  natural  method,  which  shows  that  what  was  enunciated 
without  order  and  somewhat  unintelligently  can  be  taken  with 
ease  and  reduced  to  order.  This  is  done,  although  in  a  less 
boyish  manner  than  the  masters  of  trivial  schools  are  ac- 
customed to  do  it,  by  Donatus,  Servius,  and  other  expositors  of 
the  Greeks  and  Latins.  After  these  outlines,  so  to  say,  have 
been  taught,  all  things  must  be  gone  through  again  from  the 
beginning  more  exactly  and  more  accurately.  Herein  Theodore 
Gaza^  has  shown  much  skill,  having  followed  the  teaching 
method  of  Aristotle.  And  so  let  there  be  a  fuller  treatment  of 
the  eight  parts  of  speech  ;  then  let  syntax  be  expounded ;  let 
some  more  difficult  and  more  solid  Latin  author  be  added, 
who  may  render  the  knowledge  of  the  language  richer  and 
^  Bk  I,  caps.  1  and  4. 


98  Language   Teaching  [book  tti 

more  polished,  not  indeed  in  the  single  words  so  nuich  as  in 
the  conjunction  and  composition  of  words.     Afterwards  there 
should  follow  the  treatment  of  prosody,  to  which  should  be 
joined  the  detailed  exposition  of  some  poet.     But  I  wish  this 
knowledge  of  grammatical  science  to  be  learned  without  being 
wearisomely  troublesome,  for  whilst  it  is  injurious  to  neglect 
rules,  so  it  also  injures  to  cling  to,  and  to  be  dependent  on,  them 
too  much,  although  the  evil  of  too  much  carefulness  is  the  more 
tolerable  course.     Quintilian  places  the  study  of  Greek  before 
that  of  Latin  literature,  but  this  was  with  boys  whose  vernacular 
was  Latin.     Since  Latin  with  us  must  be  learnt  by  instruction, 
the  exact  contrary  is  necessary,  viz.  the  learning  of  the  Latm 
language  with  more  exactness  should  proceed  with  the  rudi- 
ments of  Greek.      If  anyone  should  consider  the  matter  with 
close  attention,  he  will  see  that  my  view  of  teaching  and  that 
of  Quintilian  are  alike.     For  when  boys  formerly  first  came  to 
the  school,  many  things  learned  at  home  were  already  known 
in  the  Latin  language.     After  the  harder  authors  in  the  Latin 
tongue  have  been  expounded,  and  the  tropes  and  the  main 
figures  of  speech  in  them  have  been  pointed  out,  boys  should 
pay  attention  to  the  greater  exercises  of  speaking  and  writing 
Latin.     At  the  same  time,  let  philology  begin  to  be  opened 
up,  i.e.  some  knowledge  of  the  circumstances,  times,  places, 
history,   fables,   proverbs,   sentences,   apophthegms;    domestic 
and  rustic  affairs  ;  also  foretastes  of  civil  and  public  questions, 
all  which  topics  bring  the  greatest  light  to  their  minds.     I  wish 
them  first  to  imbibe  Latin,  so  that  those  subjects,  the  need 
of  which  is  the  greatest,  may  stick  fastest.     I  wish  the  whole 
manner  of  expression  to  be  pure  Latin,  and  not  to  be  tinged 
with  Greek.     If  I  say  this  of  the  Greek  language  which  is  so 
clearly  allied  to  the  Latin,  it  will  be  evident  that  the  same 
principle  will  hold  still  more  of  the  Hebrew,  which,  through 
the  roughness  of  sound  and  its  whole  method  of  expression,  is 
so  different  from   them  both.     In   the  study  of  Grammar   I 
would  wish  the  application  of  diligence,  for  sloth  has  ruined  all 


CHAP,  i]      Latin,  and  other  Languages  99 

sciences.  Yet  study  should  not  be  immoderate,  lest  the  minds 
of  students  be  overwhelmed  with  details.  There  should  be 
leisure  for  the  mind  to  be  occupied  with  higher  and  more 
fruitful  subjects,  a  view  which  approved  itself  to  Fabius 
Quintilian\ 

Let  there  be  in  studies  a  selection,  so  that  the  first  care 
Order  of  ™ay  be  given  to  the  signification  of  words  and 

study.  thg  rules  (formulae)  of  speech.     Next  let  regard 

be  had  to  the  mind  of  the  author,  not  so  much  as  to  his  matter 
of  instruction,  as  to  the  idea  which  he  wishes  to  convey,  so 
that  the  boy  may  learn  to  bring  out  the  sense  of  those  passages 
which  are  written  obscurely  and  perplexingly.  This  sharpens 
the  judgment  greatly.  In  the  third  place,  observe  the  precepts, 
taken  from  life,  which  are  called  in  Greek  yvw/nai,  together 
with  noteworthy  expressions  and  proverbs ;  fourthly,  historical 
passages;  and  lastly,  and  needing  only  slight  treatment,  the 
consideration  of  the  mythology  contained  in  the  author. 

1  Bk  I,  cap.  19. 


mm 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  VERNACULAR  IN  TEACHING 

Teachers  are  admonished  to  avoid  faults  which  will  diminish  their  eftective- 
ness  of  teaching.  In  exposition  the  teacher  should  pass  by  the  inane 
and  useless.  How  great  a  need  there  is  that  those  things  which  they 
honour  should  be  passed  on  to  their  pupils.  The  culture  of  the 
teacher  and  its  relation  to  instruction. 

The  master  of  the  grammar  school  should  be  a  stranger 
^^   ,    ,  to  those  faults  which  the  long  exercise  of  gram- 

Tne  faults 

of  grammar  matical  art  is  accustomed  to  produce.  When 
teachers.  grammar  teachers  spend  their    time  in   trifling 

amongst  the  boys  who  drag  them  into  ineptitude  and  puerilities 
as  if  by  contagion,  they  lose  all  seriousness  and  moderation. 
They  are  compelled  to  attend  to  the  faults  of  tlie  boys,  which 
are  innumerable,  and  repeated  over  and  over  again  (nor  can 
their  manly  stomach  tolerate  these  things),  so  that  they  are 
almost  driven  to  anger  and  ferocity ;  and,  thrust  down  in  that 
pounding-mill,  as  it  were,  the  common  sense  of  teachers  becomes 
greatly  diminished^  Hence  in  their  life  and  habits  there 
exist  moroseness  and  unpleasantness  of  manners.  Jokingly 
someone  has  said  that  it  is  no  wonder  that  granmiarians  should 
have  such  manners,  for  they  get  them  straight  away  from  the 
first  verse  of  Homer:  fj.ijytv  aetSe  ded  ("Sing  to  us,  goddess, 
the  wrath...  ").  Since  nobody  in  the  school  contradicts  the 
teacher,  he  puts  on  supercilious  airs  and  arrogance,  and  par- 
ticularly brooks  no  opposition,  and  perseveres  pertinaciously 

^   Quintilian  li,  2. 


CHAP,  ii]      The  Vernacular  in    Teachino^  loi 

in  what  he  says  lest  he  should  lose  any  of  his  aulhority  by 
giving  way.  For  his  audience,  which  consists  chiefly  of  boys, 
awards  the  pahn  not  on  his  merit,  but  because  he  never  seems 
to  be  gainsaid.  Schoohnasters  often  hope  to  be  great  by 
attacking  and  saying  biting  things  of  all  kinds  of  other  men. 
This  at  least  is  how  the  matter  is  estimated  in  the  judgment  of 
boys  and  boyish  men,  in  accordance  with  whose  humours  the 
teacher  endeavours  to  speak  so  as  to  retain  his  followers.  Some 
of  the  latter,  with  their  childish  wit,  make  fun  of  the  counter- 
sophist,  and  overwhelm  him  with  maledictions  and  despise 
him.  The  rest  pursue  him  as  they  would  chase  an  escaped 
dog,  as  if  quoted  reviUngs  had  reference  to  him,  whoever  may 
have  been  the  men  on  whom  they  were  actually  originally 
poured.  In  addition  the  scholars  transfer  to  their  ruler,  with 
their  boys'  cruelty,  those  threats,  terrible  words  and  malevolent, 
abusive  epithets  which  they  find  in  their  colloquies  and  written 
exercises  :  nei>ii/o,  tenebrio,  scekrosus,  error  fuste  eliiendus,  moii- 
strmn  majoribus  hostiis  expiandum,  cerebrum  in 

The  gram-  -^  -^  . 

maticus  ought  Afiticyram  mittendujn,  so  many  and  so  atrocious 
"yran°no"usiy  tumults  of  Syllables  wrongly  composed,  or  bits 
over  his  of  storics  or  myths,  not  in  every  point  exactly 

pupils.  ,  ,  ,  .  .  .  , 

reproduced,  are  thus  set  in  motion  against  the 
teacher,  that  you  must  agree  that  Ausonius  rightly  said  that  no 
The  gram-  grammarian  ever  is,  or  ever  was,  happy\      From 

marian's  duty,  ^jj  g^,}^  misfortunes  the  prudent  master  will  keep 
himself  far  removed  by  carefulness  at  all  points.  Let  him 
accustom  himself  to  sociability  and  friendliness ;  let  him  enter 
into  the  company  and  conversations  of  men  in  moderation  and 
pleasantly,  and  as  much  as  possible  ;  he  will  free  himself  from 
annoyance,  not  by  being  distant,  but  by  the  careful  cultivation 
of  his  manners.  He  will  keep  himself  uncorrupt  and  holy, 
affable  to  his  pupils,  as  a  father,  not  as  an  ill-regulated  com- 
panion. His  erudition  will  be  ample,  accurate,  diligent,  careful 
in  those  things  which  we  have  mentioned ;  his  instruction  will 
•   Felix  grammaticus  non  est,  sed  nee  fuit  unquam,  Epigrammata,  128. 


102  Language    Tcachiug  [book  tti 

preserve  the  same  order  that  his  pupils  shall  learn  llie  words, 
then  enter  on  the  understanding  of  the  authors.  Mis  memory 
for  words  and  things  must  be  good  and  rich,  and  he  must 
keep  it  sound  by  carefuhiess  and  constant  devotion  to  learning. 
The  teacher  may  instil  great  learning  in  the  minds  of  his  pupils 
in  a  short  time,  if  he  is  himself  well  at  home  in  a  wide  range 
of  authors,  not  searching  them  one  by  one  with  great  labour, 
as  places  where  he  may  find  something  here  and  there,  as  if  a 
stranger,  but  as  a  lord  who  knows  where  every  single  thing  is, 
and  one  who  can  always  lay  his  hand  on  any  matter  he  wants 
in  a  short  time.  In  this  power,  before  all,  Rhemnius  Palaemon' 
was  held  the  prince  of  grammarians  and  was  thoroughly  accept- 
able to  his  age,  when,  in  other  respects,  he  was  intolerable  on 
account  of  his  many  disgraceful  deeds. 

It  should  not  be  regarded  as  a  crime  if  the  teacher  does 

not  know  every  myth  and  trifle.     This  does  not 
It  should  not  .^     .     .i       ■'     .      .       .         ,       r  -1 

be  considered       nccessarily  uidicatc  a  lack  of  study  oi  a  particular 

wrong  for  a         subjcct  Hor  of  knowledge  in  general:  as  e.g.  a 

grammarian  ■'  o  o  ^  o 

not  to  know  man  may  be  ignorant  as  to  :  Who  was  the  real 
everyt  mg.  niothcr  of  Acueas  ?  Who  was  the  nurse  of 
Anchises?  Who  was  the  Penelope  whose  son  was  Pan,  with 
Mercury  for  his  father?  What  is  the  feminine  form  of  the 
name  Achilles?  and  other  questions  with  which  Tiberius  Caesar 
was  wont  to  plague  the  grammarians.  As  to  which  questions, 
the  man  of  leisure  Didymus',  has  disputed  in  his  immense  set 
of  volumes.  As  in  a  state  or  in  a  well-conducted  home,  the 
magistrate  or  paterfamilias  is  worthy  of  blame  if  he  hands  over 
a  post  to  a  bad  and  useless  man,  when  he  could  fill  it  with  a 
good  man,  so  it  is  a  grave  offence  if  in  one's  mind  the  space 
be  filled  with  trifles  when  there  might  be  in  it  those  ideas  which 
would  be  of  high  value.  It  fares  badly  with  letters,  and  a  very 
painful  cross  is  imposed  on  studious  toil,  if  these  petty  matters 
also  are  supposed  to  belong  to  the  task  of  culture.     Wretched 

^  On  whom  see  Suetonius,  liter  de  Illiistraiis  Grammatids. 
^  See  Quintilian,  bk  i,  cap.  13  at  the  end. 


CHAP,  ii]      The  Vei'-iiacu/ai'  in    Teaching  103 

are  the  grammarians  who  busy  themselves  with  them.    When  the 
urbane  Virgil  was  asked  what  he  meant  in  the  Third  Eclogue, 

Die  quibus  in  terris,  et  eris  mihi  magnus  Apollo, 
Treis  pateat  coeli  spatium  non  amplius  ulnas, 

he  answered  that  he  had  written  the  lines  so  as  to  give  the  gram- 
marians a  cross  to  bear  when  they  should  come  to  that  passage. 
Let  the  teacher  know  the  mother-tongue  of  the  boys  exactly, 
^.    ^      ,  so  that  by  means   of  their   vernacular  he   may 

The  teacher  ■' 

should  know       make  his  instruction  easier  and  more  pleasant 

the  vernacular       ^  ,  tt    i  i         i  i  i 

language  of         for  them.     U nless   he    knows   how   to    express 
the  boys.  aptly  and    exactly  in   the   vernacular   what   he 

wishes  to  speak  about,  he  will  easily  mislead  the  boys,  and 
these  mistakes  will  accompany  them  closely  into  later  life,  even 
when  they  are  grown  up.  Nor  do  boys  sufficiently  understand 
the  use  of  their  own  language  unless  things  one  by  one  are 
explained  to  them  with  the  greatest  clearness.  The  teacher 
should  keep  in  his  mind  the  earlier  history  of  his  mother-tongue 
and  the  knowledge,  not  only  of  the  more  recent  words,  but  of 
old  words  also,  and  those  which  have  gone  out  of  use.  Let  him 
be  as  a  Prefect  of  the  treasury  of  his  language;  for  unless 
this  is  the  case,  books  written  a  century  earlier  will  not  be 
understood  by  posterity,  since  every  language  in  the  course  of 
time  undergoes  multitudinous  changes  \  For  which  reason  many 
points  in  the  Twelve  Tables  escaped  the  notice  of  Marcus  Cicero 
and  the  great  law-scholars,  for  many  things  even  daily  slip  out  of 
a  vernacular  language.  The  teacher  should  have  an  ample  and 
copious  equipment  of  Latin  words  so  that  his  boys  may  be  truly 
able  to  draw  from  him  as  from  a  fountain.  Let  him  not  drive 
them  to  express  what  they  wish  to  say  by  roundabout  terms 
or,  what  is  more  reprehensible  and  unpleasant,  to  point  out 
objects  with  the  linger.  This  direct  naming  of  things  which 
present  themselves  to  the  senses  is  necessary  for  those  under- 
taking the  first  rudiments,  l)ut  copious  expression  is  more  useful 

'  .See  Conrad  Gesner,  Mithridaics. 


104  Laugiuioe   Teaching  [book  hi 

to  the  more  advanced,  that  they  should  be  accustomed  to 
express  clearly  the  more  abstruse  thoughts  of  their  minds.  For 
in  this  one  rule  is  centred  the  whole  force  of  eloquence. 

The  exposition  of  authors  should  be  marked  by  ease  and 
The  exposition  cleamess.  In  the  beginning  it  should  be  in  the 
of  authors.  words  of  the  vernacular,  and  by  degrees  proceed 

to  Latin,  pronounced  distinctly  and  with  gestures  which  may 
help  intelligence,  as  long  as  they  do  not  degenerate  into  the 
theatrical.  Let  the  teacher  quote  passages  from  authors,  by 
way  of  illustration  or  in  confirmation  of  what  is  said,  and  let  him 
take  care,  as  far  as  possible,  that  these  should  not  merely  consist 
of  words,  but  also  of  short  sentences  or  something  which  may 
be  of  service  to  either  the  boy's  wits  or  his  manner  of  life^ 
When  the  boy  is  expounding  the  signification  of  words,  let  him 
produce  quotations  from  approved  authors,  in  which  as  far  as 
possible  he  will  see  to  it  that  he  declares  most  openly  the  force 
of  the  word,  then  at  the  same  time,  if  it  may  be,  let  the  sentence 
contain  something  worthy  of  knowledge.  If  he  cannot  find 
such  for  himself,  let  him  make  use  of  such  as  the  teacher  gives 
him.  Sometimes,  so  that  he  may  bring  the  matter  better  into 
view,  he  himself  may  make  an  example  of  his  own,  which  may 
be  changed  in  form,  according  to  the  need  for  a  short  sentence, 
or  a  fable  or  story,  or  a  proverb,  so  as  to  express  himself 
effectively.  Whilst  lecturing  on  a  story  or  fable,  the  teacher 
should  not  describe  the  whole  of  it  from  the  beginning,  but 
give  as  much  as  is  satisfactory  for  understanding  the  passage 
considered.  But  if  the  pupils  have  heard  it  before,  it  will  be 
sufficient  to  remind  them  about  it  in  a  few  words.  Vet  some- 
times pleasant  subjects  must  be  sought  out,  and  diverting 
matter  for  speaker  and  hearer  be  chosen,  e.g.  stories  or  fables 
may  be  related  fully  for  the  sake  of  taking  away  tedium.  I  would 
rather   the   grammar   teacher  should  err  in  this 

The  pains-  °  .  ■    ^    i        i 

taking  method  direction  than  that  he  be  dry.  It  is  a  mistake  to 
of  teaching.  su])pose  that  a  sul)ject  hns  lieen  taught  sufficiently, 

>  ()uintilian  i,  i. 


CHAP,  ii]      The    Vernacular  in    Teaching  105 

when  the  teacher  follows  the  Stoic  manner,  by  indicating  a  few 
points.  If  the  name  of  a  man  be  stated,  and  he  is  renowned 
for  warlike  deeds,  or  for  wisdom  and  is  distinguished  for  his 
knowledge  of  things,  or  even  if  the  man  named  was  notorious  by 
his  hateful  deeds,  let  it  be  shown  where  he  was  born,  who  were 
his  parents,  and  the  principal  matters  which  have  connexion 
with  his  reputation,  at  any  rate  those  things  which  chiefly  are 
necessary  for  the  understanding  of  the  passage.  Let  the  teacher 
deal  thus  both  with  what  is  praiseworthy  and  what  is  blame- 
worthy. Let  the  teacher  state  the  most  important  chronological 
dates,  as  I  will  presently  explain.  Then  he  will  point  out,  so 
as  to  make  all  easy,  those  things  which  have  connexion  with 
the  subject-matter  about  which  he  is  speaking  : 

How  to  bring  ,  .  ....  i  •     ti. 

in  illustrations     the  City,  mountain,  river,  fountain  ;  where  is  the 
whilst  reading     ^^^     j^^^^  f^^  jj  -g  (jjgtant  froiii  soinc  well-known 

authors.  r  i  ■ 

place,  e.g.  from  the  Alps,  Pyrenees,  from  the  city 
of  Rome,  Athens,  Rhodes,  Jerusalem,  the  Nile,  Rhone,  Euripus, 
or  from  the  Adriatic  or  the  Etruscan  Sea  ;  what  notable  man 
the  place  has  produced,  what  special  products  are  to  be  found 
there,  then  if  anything  remarkable  has  happened  in  that  place. 
An  animal,  or  plant,  or  stone  should  be  briefly  described,  and 
anything  concerning  its  nature  and  qualities  should — as  far  as 
possible  and  in  the  most  attractive  way — be  noted  and 
described ;  whether  it  is  rare  or  unknown  in  our  district,  and 
where  it  may  be  found,  should  be  taught.  A  precept  (in 
Greek  yvw/xT/)  is  said  to  be  made  clearer  by  some  example,  or  by 
another  sentence  or  a  more  striking  illustration,  or  by  giving  it 
the  support  of  a  greater  authority.  If  there  is  anything  in  it 
of  a  depraved  tendency,  it  should  be  corrected  by  the  standard 
of  our  religion.  The  origin  of  a  proverb  and  its  essential 
meaning  should  be  elucidated  as  far  as  possible,  then  should 
be  stated  what  its  applied  use  is,  and  at  the  same  time  an 
instance  of  its  use  by  an  author  should  be  quoted  from  a 
passage  in  which  the  author  seems  to  have  introduced  it  most 
appropriately  and  effectively.     The  teacher  may  also  borrow 


io6  Language   Teaching  [book  hi 

some  easy  illustrations  from  the  study  of  higher  knowledge,  as 
long  as  it  is  appropriate  to  the  capacities  of  the  minds  of  his 
pupils,  and  so  far  as  the  quotations  serve  to  elucidate  the  author 
under  consideration.  The  rest  of  the  more  difficult  parts  which 
require  a  deeper  foundation  for  their  comprehension  should  be 
left  over  to  the  time  of  higher  studies  themselves.  The  author's 
plan  should  be  expounded  by  the  teacher,  as  was  done  by 
Donatus',  though  in  this  direction  he  goes  too  far.  Then  the 
obscure  passages  of  the  writer  should  be  explained  through  other 
passages  like  them,  but  somewhat  clearer.  But  if  there  are  none 
of  these  passages  to  be  found,  then  the  explanation  should  be 
„    ^  ,   ,  ,        based  on  other  passages  of  the  same  period  or  the 

Method  of  the  i  o 

interpretation  One  next  to  it,  SO  that  the  teacher  may  show  that 
of  authors.  ^j^.^  ^^^  ^^  Speaking  or  feeling  of  the  author  can 

be  made  clear  by  the  reference  to  his  period  as  a  whole.  For 
all  which  methods  an  example  in  my  opinion  can  be  found  in 
Servius  Honoratus\  I  will  not  here  discuss  the  truth  of  his  judg- 
ments, but  I  approve,  in  the  highest  degree,  his  methods  of  inter- 
pretation, and  would  wish  them  to  be  taken  as  a  standard  by  the 
teacher  for  the  purpose  of  instruction ;  though  it  is  fitting  that  the 
teacher  should  be  more  copious  and  prolix  in  interpretation  than 
Servius  was  in  writing.  More  minute  points  should  also  be 
brought  before  a  class  in  teaching  than  are  done  in  composing  a 
book.  Let  the  teacher  remember  that  very  apt  image  by  which 
Quintilian  describes  the  boy's  mind,  viz.  that  it  is  like  a  vessel  with 
a  narrow  neck,  which  spits  out  again  the  too  large  a  supply  of 
liquid  which  the  teacher  attempts  to  pour  in.  Let  instruction 
therefore  be  poured  in  gradually,  drop  by  drop.  Similarly  let 
the  teacher  offer  his  pupils  in  the  beginning  few  and  easy  matters 
of  instruction  ;  then  the  boy  may  become  accustomed  so  as  to 
understand  further,  greater,  and  more  solid  topics.  In  the  first 
beginnings  let  the  teacher  often  ask  questions,  and  let  him  often 
supply  the  reasons  for  what  he  has  got  in  answer.  For  great  is  the 
help  to  memory  if  reasons  are  associated  with  the  matter  taught. 
1  Donatus  (11.  353  A. D.)  wrote  on  Terence;  Servius  (b.  355  A. D.)  on  Virgil. 


CHAPTER    III 

LATIN   SPEAKING 

The  right  attitude  of  pupils  under  instruction.  Let  them  have  paper- 
books,  in  which  they  carefully  note  down  both  what  they  have 
privately  observed  themselves  and  also  what  the  master  in  his 
exposition  suggests.  On  memory  and  its  value,  how  it  can  be  aided 
and  at  what  age  it  can  best  be  exercised.     On  pronunciation  and  style. 

The  boy  should  listen  intently  to  the  teacher  and  fix  his 
„      ,.    .  look  on  him  except  when  he  has  to  look  at  his 

How  the  boy  '■ 

should  listen  book,  Or  when  he  has  to  write.  He  must 
recognise  that  hearing  is  the  medium  of  learning, 

that  those  living  beings  who  lack  the  power  of  listening  are  not 
capable  of  learning,  and   that  nothing  is   more 

He  should  ^     .    .   ,     ,  ,  ,  ,,^, 

place  implicit      easy  or  more  fruitful  than  to  hear  much.     A\  hat- 
faith  m  his  soever  he  has  received  from  his  teacher,  let  the 

teacher.  _  ' 

scholar  regard  as  if  pure  oracle,  and  since  he  will 
think  him  to  be  perfect  and  full  of  the  highest  excellence  he 
will  keenly  wish  that  he  himself  should  be  like  his  teacher  as 
far  as  possible.  The  disciples  of  Plato  have  stated  that  their 
master  was  round-shouldered,  and  the  disciples  of  Aristotle 
that  their  master  stammered.  They  thought  these  defects 
beautiful  and  worthy  of  imitation,  because  they  were  to  be 
found  in  their  master.  I  do  not  commend  the  imitation  of 
faults,  but  I  prefer  that  faults  be  taken  along  with  virtues, 
rather  than  not  to  regard  the  master's  virtues  at  all'. 

1  Quintilian,  bk  i,  cap.  i. 
F.  W.  7 


io8  Language   Teaching  [book  hi 

Let  the  pupil  learn  to  write  correctly  and  quickly.  The 
foundations  of  writing  ought  to  be  laid  while  pupils  are  being 
taught  to  read ;  they  must  know  what  letters,  what  syllables, 
what  sounds  ought  to  be  separated  or  combined,  and  keep 
them  ready  for  use.  Let  them  be  convinced  that  nothing 
conduces  more  truly  to  wide  learning  than  to  write  much  and 
often,  and  to  use  up  a  great  deal  of  paper  and  ink.  Therefore 
let  each  boy  have  an  empty  paper  book  divided  into  several 
parts  to  receive  all  that  falls  from  his  teacher's  lips,  since  this 
is  not  less  valuable  to  him  than  precious  stones.  In  one 
division  let  him  put  down  separate  and  single  words.  In 
another  proper  ways  of  speaking  and  turns  of  speech,  which 
are  in  daily  use  ;  and  again,  rare  expressions,  or  such  as  are 
not  generally  known  and  explained. 

In  a  separate  division,  let  him  make  history  notes ;  in 
Rules  for  another,  notes  of  anecdotes ;    in  anotlier,  clever 

writing  notes.  expressions  and  weighty  judgments  ;  in  another, 
witty  and  acute  sayings;  in  another,  proverbs  ;  in  other  divisions, 
names  of  well-known  men  of  high  birth,  famous  towns,  animals, 
plants  and  strange  stones.  In  another  part,  explanations  of 
difficult  passages  in  the  author.  In  another,  doubtful  passages, 
which  are  still  unsolved.  These  beginnings  seem  simple  and 
bare,  but  later  he  will  clothe  and  ornament  them.  The  boy 
should  also  have  a  larger  book  in  which  he  can  put  all  the  notes 
expounded  and  developed  at  length  by  the  teacher,  also  what 
he  reads  for  himself  in  the  best  writers,  or  the  sayings  which 
he  observes  used  by  others  ;  and  just  as  he  has  certain  divisions 
and  heads  in  his  note-books,  so  let  him  make  indexes  of  these 
places  for  himself  and  distinguish  them  by  headings  in  order 
to  know  what  he  shall  enter  into  each  division. 

Let  the  memory  be  exercised  at  an  early  age  ;  it  improves 
with  practice;  let  many  facts  he  often  commended 

Memory.  ,         t-  ,  •  ,-     •  i    i 

to  Its  care',      ror  that  age  is  not  so  fatigued  by 
remembering,  because  it  has  no  labour  of  reflexion.     Thus  the 
^  See  Vives,  de  Anima,  bk  ii. 


CHAP.  Ill]  Latin  Speaking  109 

memory  is  strengthened  without  any  labour  or  trouble  and  it 
becomes  very  capacious.  Let,  then,  the  tender  mind  be  in- 
structed in  the  rudiments  of  knowledge,  for  although  rudiments 
may  create  aversion  they  must  be  learnt  and  are  of  great 
importance.  Thus  what  would  be  disagreeable  to  censorious 
men  is  often  even  pleasant  to  children  :  therefore  what  a  man 
would  be  disinclined  afterwards  to  learn,  must  be  learnt  as  a 
child. 

Memory  consists  of  two  factors  :  quick  comprehension  and 
Memory  from  faithful  retention  ;  we  quickly  comprehend  what 
Quintiiian.  we  Understand,  we  retain  what   we  have  often 

and  carefully  confided  to  our  memory.  Both  are  helped  by 
arrangement  of  facts,  so  that  we  can  even  recall  what  has 
passed  away  ;  this  is  just  that  art  of  memory  which  beasts  are 
said  to  lack\  What  we  want  to  remember  must  be  impressed 
on  our  memory  while  others  are  silent ;  but  we  need  not  be 
silent  ourselves,  for  those  things  which  we  have  read  aloud  are 
often  more  deeply  retained.  In  the  same  way  we  remember 
better  what  we  have  heard  from  others  than  what  we  have  read 
ourselves.  In  reading  aloud  two  senses  aid  the  subject-matter 
in  finding  an  entrance  into  the  mind,  sight  and  hearing.  If 
the  thoughts  begin  to  wander  on  account  of  a  very  small  noise, 
then  we  must  retrace  the  whole  and  exclude  all  that  interrupts. 
As  food  which  has  just  been  eaten  oppresses  the  stomach  more 
than  it  increases  the  strength,  until  it  has  been  transformed  in 
How  memory  '^^"'^  blood  and  digested  in  the  body,  so  a  discourse 
is  to  be  directly  after  it  has  been  heard  is  of  little  profit 

until  it  has  been,  as  it  were,  digested.  What 
one  learns  just  before  one  goes  to  sleep  is  far  more  vividly 
reproduced  in  the  morning  than  what  one  learns  at  any  other 
time,  provided  one  has  gone  to  bed,  neither  oppressed  by 
drinking,  or  by  eating  to  excess,  nor  weary  and  exhausted  for 
want  of  food.  It  is  a  very  useful  practice  to  write  down  what 
we  want  to  remember,  for  it  is  not  less  impressed  on  the  mind 
1  See  Vivcs,  de  Aniina,  bk  in. 


I  Fo  Language  Teaching  [book  hi 

than  on  the  paper  by  the  pen,  and  indeed  the  attention  is  kept 
fixed  longer  by  the  fact  that  we  are  writing  it  down.  Thus  the 
time  taken  in  the  writing  helps  the  idea  to  stick  in  the  mind. 

Whatever  the  boys  have  heard  from  their  master,  let  them 
Method  of  ^^^'^  repeat  to  fellow-pupils  more  advanced  than 

teaching.  themselve.'S,   or   to  an   under-master,  and  after- 

wards to  the  master  himself,  lest  awe  of  the  master  should 
confuse  them  while  they  are  still  inexperienced  and  timorous. 
At  first  it  will  suffice  for  them  to  repeat  it  word  for  word ;  but 
afterwards  let  them  change  the  passage  into  designations  and 
words  similar  to  those  which  they  have    been    taught.     Let 
them  be  bidden  to  produce  whatever  words  they  think  they 
have  noted  among  their  master's  sayings  which  they  may  use 
in  their  own  exercises.     Then  let  them  change  the  words  and 
keep  the  same  idea.     Let  the  better-informed  pupils  repeat  to 
those  who  are  less  well-informed  what  they  have  heard  from 
their  master,  and  explain  it  privately.     This  will  both  practise 
the  elder  boys  and  spur  on  the  younger.     It  seems  that  boys 
more  easily  raise  themselves  to  the  intelligence  of  their  elder 
schoolfellows  than  to  that  of  their  masters,  for  what  is  small 
and  weak  clings  more  quickly  on  its  upward  course  to  what  is 
nearest  than  to  what  is  highest,  as  we  see  happens  in  the  case 
of  trees.     Let  them  at  first  speak  in  their  own  tongue,  which 
was  born  in  them  in  their  home,  and  if  they  make  mistakes  in 
it,   let    the   master  correct  them.     From  this  start  gradually 
proceed    to    speaking   in    Latin.     They   will    mix   up   in    the 
vernacular  what  they  have  heard  from   their  master  or  read 
themselves  in  Latin,  so  that  at  first  the  language  in  the  school 
will  be  a  mixture  of  the  mother-tongue  and  of  Latin.     Let 
them  speak  their  own  language  out  of  doors,  so  that  they  may 
not  accustom  themselves  in  any  way  to  make  a  hotch-potch  of 
the  two  languages.     The  instructor  must  take  all  possible  care 
that   the   expressions  used   are   pure,  and    good    Latin.     The 
pupils  are  to  be  warned  in  this  as  in  every  other  exercise,  that 
they  must   trust  more  to  rules  than  to  practice  or  their  own 


CHAP.  Ill]  Latin  Speaking  1 1 1 

judgment,  since  the  two  latter  are  very  feeble  supports  and  easily 
mistaken.  By  the  gradual  increase  of  knowledge  at  last  they 
will  become  Latin  conversationalists.  Let  them  try  to  express 
Pupils  to  their  thoughts  in  Latin  words,  for  there  is  nothing 

speak  Latin.  vvhich  is  equally  important  as  is  practice  in  the 
learning  of  a  language.  But  if  a  pupil  is  ashamed  to  speak  in 
Latin,  it  is  hopeless  to  expect  him  ever  to  become  fluent  in 
that  language.  ^Vhoever  refuses  to  speak  Latin  after  he  has 
been  instructed  in  it  for  a  year,  must  be  punished  according 
to  his  age  and  to  the  circumstances.  A  mistake  in  a  difficult 
passage  should  be  pardoned  and  corrected  so  that  the  correc- 
tion shall  prove  useful  in  the  future,  but  if  the  mistake  is  made 
in  an  easy  passage,  the  boy  should  be  punished  for  it.  Let 
the  pupil  diligently  endeavour  to  imitate  in  his  expressions  and 
conversation,  first,  his  master  and  then  those  learned  authors, 
whom  his  instructor  has  pointed  out  to  him,  and  also  those 
men  whom  his  master  approves  of  as  learned,  but  in  speaking 
with  those  whose  Latin  is  bad,  it  is  better  to  use  a  language 
which  cannot  be  so  easily  corrupted. 

Since  language  was  given  to  men  that  they  might  exchange 
ideas,  it  is  fitting  that  it  should  be  simple  and  clear,  so  as  not 
to  require  an  interpreter^  Clearness  is  of  course  considered 
from  the  point  of  view  of  the  language  itself  and  not  from  the 
understanding  of  the  listeners,  for  if  anyone  is  ignorant  of  the 
language  and  therefore  is  not  influenced  by  our  words,  it  does 
not  follow  that  we  have  used  obscure  language.  Nay,  we  may 
have  spoken  fluently  and  simply,  if  we  have  employed  phrases 
which  belong  to  the  common  usage  of  speakers  and  if  the 
arrangement  was  clear,  that  is,  if  it  followed  a  certain  natural 
order^  Therefore  avoid  phrases  which  have  long  fallen  out  of 
Faults  of  use  on  account  of  their  antiquity,  and  which  are 

speech.  difficult  to  translate,  phrases  which  are  new  and 

1  Quintilian  i,  lo. 

2  As  the  most  frequented  way  is  a  good  way,  so  is  the  most  usual 
speech  a  good  one.     See  Aulus  Gellius  i,  lo,  and  Quintilian  viii,  2. 


112  LaiiQiiaoe   Teachino-  [dook  iii 

umisual  and  tliosc  wliicli  come  from  pocliral  translations, 
especially  from  Greek, — drawn  out  into  long  se(|uences  of 
idiom — all  these  forms  of  expression  should  be  rigorously 
avoided  '.  In  Greek  we  need  not  be  so  anxious  about  speaking 
the  language  as  about  understanding  it,  as  we  only  want  to 
know  the  literature.  But  if  anyone  has  sufficient  leisure  and 
his  intellect  permits  of  it  he  may  also  habituate  himself  so  as 
to  gain  the  power  of  speaking  in  that  language. 

The  faults  in  boyish  ways  of  speaking  must  be  noted  so  as 
The  faults  of  to  be  Corrected,  as  when  the  voice  is  too  thin 
hearing.  ^^^^  ^^^  pronunciation  of  the  letters  too  feeble. 

Those  who  commit  this  fault  are  called  Icrxi'oOeTaL ;  he  who 
commits  the  contrary  one,  whose  voice  is  too  thick  and  the 
pronunciation  of  the  words  rather  broad,  is  called  TrAareiacr/xos, 
as  for  example  Lucius  Crassus  in  the  works  of  Cicero,  Sulpitius 
and  Cotta.  When  the  words  come  as  it  seems  from  the  hidden 
depth  of  the  throat,  as  in  the  Arabs  and  Hebrews,  they  are 
said  \apvyyLt,eiv,  but  when  the  voice  is  heard  in  the  hollow 
of  the  mouth  it  is  KOLXocrTufxla'-. 

Aristotle  divides  the  faults  of  speech  into  three  kinds : 
(i)  io-;i(i o(^oji'oi's,  those  who  cannot  pronounce  a  certain  letter 
(they  are  called  blaesi,  lispers,  in  Latin) ;  (2)  i/'eA.A.oi'?,  viz.  those 
who  entirely  omit  a  letter  or  a  syllable  (in  Latin  they  are  called 
balbi,  stammerers),  Cicero  in  his  letters  to  Papyrius  Paetus 
contrasts  them  with  men  of  eloquence;  (3)  rpauAous  who  are 
called  stutterers  {Jiaesitantes).  Correct  speech  and  a  pro- 
nunciation free  from  faults  are  called  opdoe-rreia  by  Aristotle. 
Lambdacismus  and  Jotacisinus  are  the  terms  applied  when  the 
words  are  uttered  with  unnecessary  emphasis.  Li  certain 
nations  there  are  peculiar  letters,  as  for  example  among  the 
Eretrienses^,  who  very  often  mix  up  their  letters,  and  the 
Germans,  who  pronounce  the  hissing  "  s."  Faults  which  are 
the  result  of  habit  can  be  overcome,  those  which  are  the  result 

^  See  Quimilian  I,  19.  -  Quintilian  I,  5,  32. 

■*  Inhabitants  of  Eretria,  the  principal  town  of  the  island  of  Euboea. 


CHAP.  Ill]  Latin  Speaking  i  1 3 

of  nature  can  at  least  be  improved,  if  they  cannot  be  completely 
eradicated.  For  they  can  at  all  times  be  cautiously  concealed, 
so  that  they  need  not  be  objectionably  noticeable. 

It  is  necessary  to  be  careful  that  a  boy  does  not  pronounce 
„  ,,  ,         the  "s"  sound  in  a  Usping  fashion  from  want  of 

Not  to  speak  . 

too  quickly  teeth,  and  that  he  should  not  get  into  the  habit 

w  en  earning.  ^^  speaking  too  quiclcly.  The  master  himself 
must  set  him  an  example  in  the  speed  and  fluency  of  his 
language.  There  are  some  teachers  who  hope  to  be  considered 
perfect  grammarians  if,  instead  of  uttering  the  words  clearly, 
they  pour  them  out  in  a  perfect  stream;  this  gives  rise  to  much 
ignorance  in  life  and  is  a  great  evil,  for  the  mind  cannot  possibly 
follow  the  number  of  ideas  suggested  by  the  flying  tongue,  and 
thus  one  is  obliged  either  to  be  silent  or  to  utter  absurdities  so 
as  to  keep  up  the  flow  of  language.  For  there  is  nothing  con- 
sidered worse  form  in  that  style  than  for  a  man  to  hesitate. 
It  shows  the  difficulty  under  which  he  labours,  although  he 
wants  all  things  to  seem  as  if  they  were  clear,  or  rather  as  if 
easy,  to  him.  It  is  better  to  err  by  speaking  too  slowly  than 
by  speaking  too  quickly^ ;  for  in  slow  speech  a  man  can  think 
out  beforehand  what  he  is  going  to  say,  but  in  quick  speech 
he  can  scarcely  ever  do  this.  There  is,  however,  a  certain 
golden  mean  between  the  two,  which  it  is  most  desirable  to 
maintain ;  and  a  certain  quick  and  fluent  way  of  speaking 
which  I  would  not  blame  in  a  boy,  even  if  the  phrases  were 
sometimes  unthought  out,  for  it  is  not  out  of  keeping  with  his 
boyishness ;  yet,  as  he  grows  up,  the  practice  must  be  softened 
and  restrained,  so  that  he  may  not  acquire  the  habit  of  pouring 
forth  words  which  have  no  thought  behind  them  and  merely 
spring  to  the  Ups  thoughtlessly. 

Practice  in  writing  is  a  great  help.  "The  pen,"  says 
Cicero,  "is  the  best  teacher  and  producer  of  speech'^"  There- 
fore, as  soon  as  they  have  learnt  syntax,  let  the  pupils  translate 
from  the  motlier-tongue  into  Latin,  and  then  back  again  into 

•  Quinlilian  i,  i.  -  From  Quintilian. 


TI4  Language   Teaching  [book  tit 

the  mother-tongue.  Let  them  begin  with  short  passages,  which 
can  be  gradually  increased  in  length  day  by  day.  The  same 
kind  of  exercises  can  be  done  in  Greek,  although  I  should 
prefer  that  pupils  learned  to  translate  from  Greek 
authors  rather  than  to  translate  from  our  language 
into  Greek.  It  is  right  to  draw  attention  to  the  fact  that  a 
translator  must  be  well  equipped  in  both  languages ;  still  he 
must  receive  most  practice  in  the  language  into  which  he  is 
translating.  But  it  is  impossible  to  fully  translate  words,  of 
which  one  does  not  know  the  meaning.  The  works  of  Aristotle 
will  be  badly  translated  by  a  man  who  is  not  a  philosopher  and 
those  of  Galen  by  a  man  who  is  not  a  doctor. 

The  pupils  should  likewise  be  well  exercised  in  explaining 
difficult  passages  of  great  writers.  For  this  requires  great 
attention.  Concentration  is  thus  strengthened  and  the  mind  is 
sharpened,  and  the  judgment  becomes  more  active.  Strange 
to  say  there  are  some  people  who  do  not  understand  how  to 
write  down  what  they  would  be  well  able  to  speak;  this  happens, 
as  far  as  I  can  discover,  because  a  wandering  and  unsettled 
mind  is  capable  of  sufficient  attention  for  speech,  but  not  for 
understanding  what  is  written  ;  it  cannot  support  the  strain 
of  collecting  and,  as  it  were,  compelling  itself. 

Added  to  this  there  must  be  practice  in  comparing  writers, 
together  with  the  expressions  in  which  they  agree,  and  in 
which  they  differ ;  for  the  general  practice  of  language  cannot 
be  all  limited  to  fixed  rules.  Let  pupils  write  an  easy  letter, 
or  tale,  let  them  amplify  a  short  sentence  or  a  maxim,  render 
a  proverb  into  another  language,  and  write  a  poem  in  prose, 
stripping  it  of  all  metre,  an  exercise  which  Crassus  often 
practised,  as  we  find  mentioned  in  Cicero \  Laurentius  Valla 
and  Raphael  Volaterranus  employed  the  same  method  when 
they  were  translating  Homer.  Though  I  approve  of  this 
practice  for  boyish  ignorance,  I  do  not  sanction  it  as  an 
adequate  rendering  of  a  great  writer,  since  in  such  a  translation 
^  See  Dr  Lawrence  TTumphrey,  de  Interpretatione. 


CHAP,  III]  Latin  Speaking  115 

the  greatest  part  of  the  beauty  of  the  words  is  taken  away. 
Let  the  pupil  write  at  first  few  exercises,  but  let  the  master  see 
that  those  are  done  correctly,  then  let  him  proceed  to  further 
exercises ;  style  does  not  come  by  painful  labour,  but  rather 
by  careful  and  diligent  exercise,  so  that  the  small  beginnings 
which  conduce  so  greatly  to  the  whole  (more  than  we  believe 
even)  may  not  escape  our  careful  notice.  Let  scholars  keep 
what  they  have  written  in  earlier  months,  in  order  to  compare 
it  with  that  written  in  later  months,  so  that  they  may  perceive 
the  progress  made  and  persevere  in  the  way  in  which  they  see 
they  have  made  improvement. 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE    COURSE    OF    TRAINING 

Disputations.     Correction  of  mistakes  in  the  process  of  acquiring  know- 
ledge and  in  morals.      Attraction  of  studies.      Boys'  play. 

The  boy  who  is  brought  to  school  ought  not  to  engage  in 
the  disputations  at  once,  for  how  can  he  know 

Disputations.  ,         ^  ....  -  ^i  •        -. 

what  to  say  when  he  is  ignorant  oi  everything.'' 
rather  let  him  silently  watch  the  ways  of  the  school  and 
carefully  consider  every  single  exercise ;  then  let  him  begin 
to  question  his  schoolfellows  about  any  matter,  rather  than  to 
judge  or  to  contend  about  it. 

With  this  consideration  in  his  mind,  Pythagoras  of  Samos 
used  to  command  his  scholars  to  be  silent  for  some  years  so 
as  not  to  get  into  the  habit  of  asking  frivolous  and  foolish 
questions \  Then  they  were  permitted  to  have  slight  contests 
on  small  matters  of  debate ;  (these  were  somewhat  frequent  at 
first) — and  the  subjects  of  discussion  were  such  as  they  had 
heard  expounded'.  Emulation  in  discussion  excites  youthful 
minds  and  does  not  suffer  them  to  stagnate  in  idleness.  For 
that  reason  the  Lord  called  forth  the  Jews,  as  though  they 
were  boys,  to  fight  with  the  heathen  for  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven,  as  we  read  in  St  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 
Therefore  boys  ought  to  be  urged  on  by  means  of  praise  and 
small  rewards  which  suit  their  age,  and  even  by  reproof  and 
the  pointing  out  of  a  comrade  who  has  spoken  better^.     But 

*   See  Laertius  :  PytIia«;oras.  -  ()uintilian  i.  i. 

■'   Horace,  Serni.  i.  Sat.  i. 


CHAP,  iv]       TJic  Course  of  Trainino-  1 1 7 

one  must  be  careful  lest  the  matter  should  grow  to  hatred,  and 
quarrels  should  arise.  Let  the  boy  contend  eagerly  but  without 
any  bitterness.  Gradually  these  contentions  should  turn  to 
a  comparison  of  studies  and  the  excitements  of  childish  minds 
should  subside.  Indeed  it  is  better  for  a  young  man  to  know 
nothing  than  for  him  to  become  the  slave  of  ambition  and 
pride.  No  one  will  easily  believe,  unless  he  has  had  experience 
of  it,  what  wild  and  savage  passions  an  ignorant  young  man 
will  cherish,  like  serpents,  in  his  bosom.  Small  rewards  and 
praise  should  indeed  be  allowed  to  those  of  childish  age,  but 
these  should  be  shown  as  childish  trifles  to  the  youth  (as  are 
nuts  or  horses  of  reeds  or  wood  to  those  who  have  just  put  off 
the  name  of  child),  who  would  blush  to  desire  them  for  them- 
selves. The  words  of  his  instructor  and  his  ways  will  greatly 
help  to  make  pupils  wish  to  despise  such  things,  for  while  he 
often  and  vehemently  inveighs  against  them  and  declares  them 
to  be  ridiculous,  he  also  will  confirm  what  he  says  by  his  life. 
The  following  are  problems  which  youths  may  discuss : 
How  to  harmonise  rules  of  subjects  of  study 
U)geth'e'r  of"^  with  practice  ;  obscure  and  difficult  passages  in 
material  from  the  authors ;  the  explanation  of  maxims,  proverbs, 
subjects  of  parables,  fables,  historical  events  ;  what  is  their 

study  by  origin,    their    meaning,    their    relation    to   other 

pupUs.  . 

things  ;  the  name  of  a  man,  a  city,  a  mountain, 
a  river,  a  spring,  a  province,  an  animal,  a  tree,  a  stone,  a  metal; 
the  force  of  a  word  and  its  etymology,  its  pronunciation  and 
spelling  ;  the  expression,  construction  and  laws  of  verse ;  all 
these  subjects  should  be  chosen  according  to  his  age,  and  in 
keeping  with  the  extent  of  his  studies.  And  since  a  man  is 
taught  nothing  by  nature,  but  everything  is  evolved  by  instruc- 
tion, by  hard  work,  habit  and  diligence,  he  often  errs  and  goes 
Correction  of  in  the  opposite  direction  to  what  he  ought,  so 
mistakes.  ^.j-j^^j-  correction  is  necessary  at  all  times  and  at 

all  ages,  and  we  ought  not  to  allow  any  fault  to  cling  and  grow 
strong.     There  are,   however,   some   things  which  the   pupils 


ii8  Language   Teaching  [i^.ook  in 

cannot  yet  grasp,  ami  llic  master  sliould  ])()Stpone  them  to  a 
later  age,  warning  the  pupil,  however,  that  what  he  has  done  is 
not  approved,  though  it  is  not  blamed,  and  that  it  is  pardoned 
on  account  of  his  stage  of  progress,  but  that  the  time  will 
come  when  the  teacher  will  have  to  show  him  where  and 
why  mistakes  which  are  now  overlooked,  must  be  avoided 
when  he  shall  come  to  understand  higher  standards ^  There 
are  things  which  we  approve  in  boys  but  disapprove  of 
when  firmly  estabUshed  in  men.  In  teaching  it  is  well  to 
dissemble  a  little,  and  not  to  censure  everything  that  presents 
itself.  Morals  however  must  be  kept  free  from  blemish ;  not 
as  though  everything  could  be  perfect  at  that  age,  but  lest  boys 
should  be  perverse  and  the  beginnings  of  progress  be  spoilt. 
The  wise  teacher  will  remember  what  a  difference  there  is 
between  the  beginner,  the  one  who  is  getting  on,  and  the  one 
who  is  fully  accomplished ;  that  he  cannot  require  from  a 
boy,  who  is  beginning,  that  which  he  expects  from  a  youth, 
v/ho  has  made  progress  in  self-control  and  moral  character. 
Nothing  is  so  foolish  as  to  expect  ripe  fruit  when  the  trees 
begin  to  bud  in  early  spring.  Let  the  master  not  be  angry  with 
the  boys,  if  they  cannot  do  what  youths  can  after  having  been 
instructed  for  a  long  time.  Much  less  should  the  master  get 
angry,  as  he  sometimes  does,  if  the  boy  cannot  do  what  he  can 
do  himself.  Although  there  is  nothing  more  senseless,  yet 
there  are  teachers  who  demand  such  tasks  from  little  boys  with 
cruel  threats,  blows  and  stripes.  Such  teachers  themselves  are 
,,    ^  ^    ^  more  worthy  of  being  beaten.     Let  the  teacher 

Method  of  ... 

treating  observc  moderation  in  his  censure  lest  he  should 

^"^'  ^'  let  anything  slip  himself,  or  lest  he  should  arouse 

the  fierceness  of  his  pupils ;  do  not  let  him  crush  their  spirits 
by  the  harshness  of  his  words,  or  confuse  them  by  his  severity. 
At  the  beginning  of  any  task,  suppose  they  are  beginning  to 
speak  Latin  or  learning  to  write,  certain  mistakes  which  can 
easily  be  remedied  in  the  course  of  time  may  be  overlooked ; 

'   (Hiintilian  I,  i. 


CHAP,  iv]       The  Course  of  Training  1 1 9 

urge  the  pupils  by  praise  and  approval  as  though  with  a 
pricking  spur  to  a  race,  that  they  may  not  be  made  ashamed 
by  the  constant  strange  and  subtle  derision  of  their  teacher 
and  companions,  and  thus  despair  before  they  have  tested  their 
powers,  for  those  who  are  hindered  by  the  possibility  of  being 
exposed  to  ridicule  never  venture  to  make  any  advance.  Those 
who  are  progressing  ought  never  to  be  praised  for  anything 
for  which  the  teacher  sees  he  will  one  day  have  to  substitute 
censure.  Moderation  in  emending  and  correcting  will  also 
help,  so  that  even  if  he  silently  passes  over  some  inaccuracies, 
he  can  at  least  assert  that  there  was  nothing  of  which  the  pupils 
could  say  that  the  correction  was  wrong.  This  will  greatly 
increase  his  authority. 

Again,  since  the  mind  of  man  is  misled  by  passions,  every 
thoughtless   action    must   be    checked    and   re- 

Punishment.  .        ,     ,  r  i     i  i  i     • 

stramed  by  reproof,  and  blame  expressed  m 
words,  and  if  necessary  in  blows^ ;  so  that  as  with  animals 
pain  may  recall  boys  to  the  right,  when  reason  is  not  strong 
enough.  For  all  that,  I  should  prefer  this  beating  to  be  done 
as  amongst  free  men,  not  harshly  or  as  amongst  slaves,  unless 
the  boy  is  of  such  a  disposition  that  he  has  to  be  incited  to 
his  duty  by  blows,  like  a  slave.  The  master  should  not  be 
too  familiar  with  boys  and  those  who  are  still  childish,  for  the 
comedy  says  of  them  "  Too  much  familiarity  breeds  contempt." 
Let  the  master  then  be  grave  without  being  harsh,  and  kind 
without  being  weak;  do  not  threaten  unless  the  matter  requires 
it ;  do  not  abuse  the  boys,  for  this  would  give  them  cause  for 
contempt  and  occasion  of  practice  for  it.  If  the  boy  will  not 
comply  with  threats  let  the  master  beat  him,  but  in  such  a 
way  that  while  his  still  tender  body  suffers  a  sharp  pain,  it 
does  not  endure  a  permanent  injury.  Never  let  the  master 
act  in  such  a  way  as  to  accustom  the  boys  to  despise  his 
threats  or  punishments ;  these  I  should  wish  him  not  to 
dispense  lavishly,  but  to  reserve  them  for  special  and  rare 
'  But  see  Quintilian's  views,  i,  3. 


1 20  Language   Teaching  [book  in 

occasions.  Masters  will  thus  secure  dignity  and  value  in  all 
matters  and  not  produce  insensibility  by  repeated  blows. 
Older  boys  indeed  should  be  more  rarely  checked  by  blows, 
but  still  it  should  be  done  sometimes \  Boys  should  chiefly 
be  restrained  by  awe  and  respect  for  their  master  and  the 
important  men  of  the  academy,  who  are  present  as  witnesses 
and  the  observers  of  both  virtues  and  vices.  So  also  respect 
for  their  fathers  and  relations,  is  a  restraining  factor. 

The  teacher  must  also  point    out    what    delight   there  is 
in   learning,  what  deep,  lasting  and  permanent 

Commenda-  °  ,  .    ,  ',  .  ,  ,  ,, 

tion  of  learning  pleasure,  to  which  nothing  else  can  be  at  all 
by  the  teacher.  j,Qj^-,pj^red  ;  all  Other  things  pass  by  and  vanish 
before  its  presence ;  knowledge  is  a  provision  for  old  age,  and 
serves  as  a  safeguard  over  the  whole  course  of  life,  whether  joy 
asks  for  embellishments  or  sorrow  for  comfort ;  on  the  other 
hand  what  shadows,  what  dangerous  evils  spring  from  ignorance; 
to  illustrate  all  these  matters  too  many  examples  could  not  be 
produced !  Further,  boys  must  be  reminded  not  to  accept 
what  they  read  about  morals,  as  though  it  were  a  little  story 
and  it  were  sufficient  to  have  heard  it ;  but  they  should  look 
on  it  as  the  most  strengthening  pasture  for  the  mind  which 
must  be  chewed,  digested,  and  converted  into  the  substance 
of  the  mind.  Unless  this  is  done  it  injures  the  mind  just 
as  undigested  food  upsets  the  body.  Let  them  frequently 
remember  that  God  is  the  Director  of  the  world. 

Pupils  must  TT       •      1 

be  encouraged  that  we  shall  all  come  before  His  judgment-seat 
to  piety.  ^^  death,  and  that  no  one  will  be  exempt ;  death 

comes  to  all  alike,  threatens  all,  is  present  everywhere  and 
imminent ;  it  carries  off  young  and  old  at  the  same  time.  The 
teacher  will  have  some  short,  general  arguments  ready,  specially 
effective  against  particular  faults  which  are  usual  to  that  age, 
for  his  task  is  to  bring  all  his  instruction  and  training  so  to 
bear  upon  the  youth  as  to  make  vice  hated  or  despised. 

'   "When  you  elrivc  a  child  by  blows  what  will  you  do  with  the  youth"  ? 
((^uint.  1,  3.) 


CHAP,  iv]       The  Course  of  Trainutj^-  121 

But  inasmuch  as  the  powers  of  our  minds  and  bodies  are 
not  only  Umited,  but  are  sometimes  weak  and 
ecrea  ion.  feeble,  we  must  give  them  some  food  and  recrea- 

tion, so  that  they  may  be  able  to  accomplish  further  work, 
otherwise  they  are  exhausted  in  a  very  short  time,  and  then 
become  good  for  nothing.  Boys  must  exercise  their  bodies 
frequently,  for  that  age  demands  growth  and  the  development 
of  the  strength  which  has  been  acquired.  In  the  same  way 
they  must  not  be  pressed  too  much  or  driven  to  study,  but 
they  must  be  allowed  some  respite  from  attention,  "lest  they 
should  begin  to  hate  work  before  they  begin  to  love  it\"  but 
still  in  such  a  way  that  they  do  not  glide  into  mean  pleasures. 
The  human  mind  is  wonderfully  inclined  to  freedom.  It 
allows  itself  to  be  set  to  work,  but  it  will  not  suffer  itself  to  be 
compelled.  We  may  easily  gain  much  by  asking,  but  very 
little  by  extortion,  and  that  little  with  difficulty. 

There  are  games,  which  combine  honour  with   pleasure, 
The  best  such    as    throwing   the  javelin,    playing   ball   or 

games.  running".      If  Cicero   recommended   profitable 

and  serious  games  to  his  fellow-citizens,  how  much  more  ought 
they  to  be  recommended  by  us  to  anyone  who  is  a  philosopher. 
Everything  ought  to  take  place  before  the  eyes  of  older  people, 
who  are  reverenced  by  the  pupils.  The  aim  of  such  games  is 
to  promote  the  growth  of  the  body,  not  to  make  boys  wild  and 
■ferocious.  The  whole  care  of  the  health  is  directed  to  making 
the  mind  vigorous  and  to  attain  to  what  he  (Cicero)  most 
desired  from  the  gods,  "mens  sana  in  corpore  sano  " ;  then  to 
strengthen  and  refresh  the  mind  so  that  it  may  be  made  fit 
for  its  daily  work.  Let  the  boys  speak  Latin  while  they  are 
playing.  He  who  speaks  in  his  native  tongue  should  be 
mulcted  by  losing  a  point  in  the  game.  In  games  boys 
easily  speak  Latin,  and  in  this  way  more  freely,  if  whatever  is 

1  As  (^uintilian  says  :   i,  i. 

^  Quintilian   l,   3,    and    the    dialogue    de    caiisis  corriiptac    eloqiuiitiae 
ascribed  to  Tacitus. 


122  Language  Teaching  [book  hi 

required  in  the  way  of  si)eech  in  the  game  is  first  explained 
by  the  teacher  in  good  and  suitable  Latin ;  for  we  speak 
unwillingly  when  we  fear  to  say  something  wrong  or 
inappropriate. 

When  the  weather  will  not  allow  them  to  exercise  their  bodies 
out  of  doors,  or  in  the  case  of  those  whose  health  will  not  permit 
them  to  take  part  in  games,  then  happy  and  pleasant  talks  will 
afford  great  delight,  such  as  tales  or  histories  or  narratives 
of  a  pleasant,  witty,  lively  and  merry  kind.  Similarly,  it  is 
suitable  to  quote  either  sayings  which  have  elegance  long  drawn 
out  or  witty  and  laughable  brevities.  Sometimes  also  a  fairly 
concentrated  indoor  game  should  be  permitted,  which  will 
exercise  their  minds,  their  judgments  and  their  memories,  such 
as  that  of  draughts  and  chess.  They  should  have  porches  or 
wide  halls  in  which  to  recreate  themselves  in  rainy  weather. 
But  the  chief  care  should  be  paid  to  the  mind  and  the  memory, 
which  are  injured  by  too  much  attention  to  the  body.  Some 
wise  man  has  said,  "Great  care  of  the  body  is  great  carelessness 
for  the  mind."  Nevertheless  the  body  must  not  be  neglected 
and  brought  up  in  dirt  and  filth,  for  nothing  is  more  detrimental 
both  to  the  health  of  the  body  and  to  that  of  the  mind. 

A  system  of  good  nourishment  conduces  very  much  in 
„.  ^        ^  J      every  way  to  the  sharpness  of  the  mind  and  the 

Right  method  •'  -'  ^ 

in  nourish-  Strength  of  the  memory.     Food  should  be  taken 

^^^  '  at   suitable   times    of  the   day   and    should    be 

varied  to  suit  the  constitution  of  every  individual,  so  that 
no  noxious  humour  may  strike  its  roots  in  the  body.  Weak- 
blooded  {exsucci)  people  must  take  fluids,  phlegmatic  people 
what  is  warm  and  heating,  melancholy  people  what  is  opposite 
to  their  nature,  what  will  lighten  their  spirits  and  make  them 
more  gay.  To  these  wine  may  be  given  a  little  more  freely 
for  as  the  Jewish  wise  man  said,  "  Wine  should  be  given  to  the 
afflicted  \"    Those  who  are  too  ardent  {luliosi)  should  be  cooled 

^  See  Ecclesiastes  x.  19  ;  I  Timothy  v.  23. 


CHAP,  ivj       The  Course  of  Training  123 

down.  For  very  fine  minds,  somewhat  fatty  foods  are  beneficial 
for  health,  as  well  as  for  keeping  in  check  their  force  of 
intellect,  that  they  may  not  suddenly  collapse;  to  which 
danger  tlie  fineness  of  their  mind  too  much  exposes  them. 
The  youths  should  not  be  allowed  to  withdraw  themselves  by 
stealth,  for  according  to  the  disposition  of  each  they  will  either 
go  and  drink,  or  gamble,  or  resort  with  undesirable  women. 
Thus  much  as  to  instruction  in  languages. 


F.  w. 


CHAPTER   V 

THE   READING   OF   AUTHORS 

On  different  classes  of  authors,  the  reading  of  whom  is  vaUiable  and  those 
the  reading  of  whom  is  harmful,  and  especially  as  to  virtue  and  vice 
in  the  poets. 

I  SUPPOSE  that  I  am  now  expected  to  set  forth  from  what 
sources    I    consider    this     erudition    is    to    be 

Differences  in 

the  value  of  gained  ;  I  will  do  so  as  far  as  my  powers  allow, 
authors.  g^^.    j   ^^,-^   ^^^^    make   a  few  general  remarks 

about  writers.  All  writers  are  not  to  be  judged  by  the  same 
standard.     There  are  some  who  have  followed  a  certain  order 

1.  Necessary  ^^  their  writings,  and  have  a  short  and  clear 
to  know.  style,  which  is  easy  to  be  understood ;  these 
ought  not  only  to  be  read,  but  also  learnt  by  heart.  Others 
have  carefully  followed  up  the  subject  treated,  but  either  too 
discursively  or  too   confusedly  for  it  to  be  any  help  to  the 

2.  Unneces-  pupil ;  these  ought  to  be  read,  but  are  not  to  be 
sary  authors.  learnt  by  heart  as  the  former,  or  to  be  read 
repeatedly.  Other  writers  it  is  sufficient  to  have  read.  There 
are  some  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  read,  but  which  should  be 
kept  in  a  library  for  reference  when  occasion  requires. 

Above  all  things  a  boy  must  be  kept  from  those  writers, 

who  might  foster  and  feed  any  fault  to  which  he 

authors  boys        is  inclined,  for  example  a  sensual  boy  must  be 

should  be  j^gp,.  fj-Q^i  Ovid,  a  jeering  boy  from  Martial,  an 

abusive  and  mocking  boy  from  Lucian,  a  boy 


CHAP,  v]        The  Reading  of  Authors  125 

inclined  to  impiety  from   Lucretius,  and  most  of  the  philo- 
sophers, especially  Epicurus  and  his  followers. 

Writers  who  r  ^         i  j        r  .  . 

cherish  and  Cicero  wiU  not  do  much  good  to  a  vainglorious 
inflame  vices.  j^^^  unless  it  is  pointed  out  to  him  under  what 
conditions  one  can  praise  oneself  without  exciting  aversion,  or 
unless  such  a  boy  understands  that  we  ourselves  cannot  tolerate 
even  in  the  greatest  man,  or  those  who  are  greater  than  all 
praise  of  ours,  the  taint  of  self-glorification. 

Let  the  scholar  begin  the  reading  of  the  heathen,  as  though 
entering  upon  poisonous  fields,  armed  with  an  antidote,  with 
the  consciousness  that  men  are  united  to  God  by  means  of  the 
reverence  which  has  been  given  them  by  Him ;  that  what  men 
think  out  for  themselves  is  full  of  errors;  that  whatever  is 
opposed  to  piety,  has  sprung  from  man's  emptiness  and  the 
deceits  of  his  most  crafty  enemy,  the  devil;  this  will  be 
generally  sufficient  without  further  explanation.  Let  the  scholar 
remember  that  he  is  wandering  amongst  the  heathen,  that  is, 
amongst  thorns,  poisons,  aconite,  and  most  threatening  pesti- 
lences, that  he  is  to  take  from  them  only  what  is  useful,  and 
to  throw  aside  the  rest,  all  of  which  they  are  neither  to  carefully 
examine  themselves  nor  is  the  teacher  to  attempt  to  explain  that 
which  is  hurtful  to  them.  Laurentius  Valla  excellently  says  of 
a  certain  offensive  word,  "I  would  rather  a  man  remained 
ignorant  of  it  than  that  he  should  learn  it  through  me."  Thus 
the  teacher  should  rather  divert  the  pupil  as  far  away  as 
possible  from  it  and  lead  him  to  a  better  word. 

Having  said  this  I  will  proceed  to  consider  writers  in  both 
languages.  Amongst  them  there  are  some  who  write  in  verse, 
others  write  in  freedom  from  metre.  This  is  called  prose  or 
in  Latin,  pedester^ ;  the  former  are  called  poets, 
the  characteristic  of  their  art  is  music  ;  they  have 
no  fixed  subject,  any  more  than  the  other  arts,  which  are  called 
"opyai'a"  by  the  Greeks,  as  grammar,  dialectic  and  oratory. 

1  i.e.  on  foot,  not  rising  above  the  ground,  not  elevated  like  the  language 
ot  poetry. 

8—2 


126  Langtiage   Teaching  [book  hi 

From  the  fornier  the  mind  draws  great  refreshment  on  account 
of  its  harmony  and  character.  But  because  of  tlie  subjects 
which  the  early  poets  have  chosen  to  put  into  song,  poetry  is 
sus})ected  by  many  of  corrupting  the  morals  and  is  openly 
hated  by  certain  people.  Although  there  has  been  a  long  and 
varied  dispute  on  this  subject,  I  will  disclose  my  view  on  the 
subject  in  a  few  words. 

As  far  as  verse  is  concerned,  I  consider  it  very  charming 
The  usefulness  becausc  of  its  harmony,  which  corresponds  with 
in  poetry.  t]ig  melody  of  the  human  soul,  of  which  I  have 

already  spoken.  The  words  proper  to  poetry,  whether  original 
or  adapted,  are  lofty,  sublime,  brilliant ;  poems  contain  subjects 
of  extraordinary  effectiveness,  and  they  display  human  passions 
in  a  wonderful  and  vivid  manner.  This  is  called  energia. 
There  breathes  in  them  a  certain  great  and  lofty  spirit  so  that 
the  readers  are  themselves  caught  into  it,  and  seem  to  rise 
above  their  own  intellect,  and  even  above  their  own  nature. 
But  amongst  all  these,  so  charming  virtues,  very  fatal  faults  are 
mixed,  disgraceful  subjects  are  partly  described  and  expressed 
and  partly  even  commended.  Faults  of  this  kind  can  do  great 
harm,  if  the  reader  has  confidence  in  the  writer,  and  if  his 
verses  gain  a  lodgment  in  the  listener's  mind,  unconsciously 
through  the  sweetness  of  the  verse.  The  subjects  are  taken 
partly  from  the  spiritual,  and  partly  from  the  bodily,  life. 
They  do  not  harm  the  mind,  unless  authority  and  example  from 
the  author  are  added  to  them,  for  which  reason  Homer  was 
banished  from  Plato's  Republic;  Pythagoras  says  that  he  saw 
his  soul  in  the  lower  world  hanging  from  a  tree  and  surrounded 
by  serpents,  because  of  what  he  had  feigned  about  the  gods. 
This  is  much  worse  than  what  Silius  Italicus  fables  Scipio 
Africanus  to  have  seen.  But  if  these  tales  could  formerly 
injure  students,  they  can  do  so  no  longer,  for  we  know  that 
those  gods  were  bad  and  wicked  beings,  who  deserved  ruin 
and  not  heaven ;  but  still  it  may  injure  some  students  when  it 
is  added  that  wicked  people  attained  their  ends  through  crime, 


CHAP,  v]        The  Reading  of  Authors  127 

as  when  a  man  gained  a  kingdom  by  treachery  or  murder. 
Physical  crimes  corrupt  the  mind  by  even  mentioning  them. 
Someone  will  ask,  "How  then  ought  we  to  read?     How 
are  we  to  gather  healthy  plants  from  amongst  so 

Plutarch  on  _  °  •'    ^  ° 

the  reading  many  poisonous  weeds  ?     What  are  to   be  our 

e  poe  s.  precautions  in  stepping  amongst  the  thorns  ? 
Or  should  we  rather  despise  and  reject  them  all  ?  "  Plutarch 
of  Chaeronea  wrote  a  book  on  reading  the  poets,  in  which  he 
does  nothing  but  arrange  and  soften  the  poison  so  that  it  may 
be  less  hurtful  to  those  who  take  it,  as  when  a  poisonous 
mushroom  is  counteracted  by  an  antidote.  What  need  is  there 
of  this  ?  Is  it  not  wiser  to  leave  the  poison  untouched 
altogether?  Perhaps  this  is  particularly  the  course  to  adopt 
with  the  poets  referred  to,  and  all  the  more  because  they  add 
very  little  to  knowledge  of  the  arts,  or  to  life,  or  indeed  to 
language  itself.  Plutarch  wisely  and  sensibly,  as  his  manner 
is,  gives  precepts  whereby  the  study  of  poetry  may  be  made 
less  harmful  (although  there  are  not  a  i^w  things  which  afford 
a  weak  antidote)  as  when  he  bids  us  to  point  out  to  boys  that 
poetry  is  not  real  life  but  a  kind  of  painting.  What  then?  If 
that  very  picture  which  we  are  gazing  at,  is  obscene,  does  that 
not  contaminate  our  minds,  especially  if  it  be  subtly  and 
artistically  depicted  ?  Not  undeservedly  did  wise  men  wish  to 
banish  from  the  state  such  artists  together  with  their  pictures. 
Plutarch  adds  that  poets  by  no  means  indicate  that  they 
themselves  approve  of  their  own  disgraceful  subjects.  But  not 
all ;  indeed  some  openly  approve  them  fully,  as  Ovid,  Tibullus, 
Catullus,  Propertius,  Martial  and  others  of  this  type.  Others 
however  treat  the  subject  most  obscurely  and  show  their  dis- 
approval by  hints  which  only  a  very  few  understand.  Further, 
Plutarch  advises  that  the  maxims  of  the  moral  poets  should 
be  opposed  to  the  immoral  teachings  of  the  others,  then  he 
believes  the  one  sort  will  nullify  ihc  other  sort.  But  what  are 
you  to  do,  if  good  maxims  are  not  at  hand  ?  Besides  have 
not  bad  maxims  on  their  side  the  inclination  of  our  natures  to 


128  Language   Teaching  [book  hi 

evil,  so  that  they  are  stronger  than  the  good?     And,  finally, 
he  comes  to  the  conclusion  that   he  confesses  that  reading 
poets  is  hurtful,  unless  you  are  very  cautious  indeed.     If  that 
is  so,  it  seems  they  ought  not  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of 
boys,  for  it  is  the  instruction  of  boys  with  which  Plutarch  is' 
dealing,  and  the  study  of  the  poets  might  be  deferred  until  the 
boys    become    grown    men   of  settled   convictions.     With   all 
these  grounds  and  reasons  before  us,  it  seems  to  me  that  the 
following  is  the  course  which  should  be  adopted.     There  are 
so  many  things  in  the  poets,  which  are  charming,  beautiful,  great 
and  worthy  of  admiration,  that  poets  ought  not  to  be  excluded 
from  boys'  study,  but  should  be  expurgated.     The  diseased 
limb  should  not  be  cut  off,  but  should  be  cured  by  treatment 
with  medicine.     Obscene  passages  should  be  wholly  cut  out 
from  the  text,  as  though  they  were  dead,  and  would  infect 
whatever  they  touched.     Does  the  human  race,  forsooth,  suffer 
an  irreparable  loss,  if  a  man  cast  the  noxious  part  out  of  an 
unclean  poet,  and  if  he  does  to  a  book,  what  he  would  not 
hesitate  to  do  to  his  own  body,  if  necessary?     The  Emperor 
Justinian  mutilated  the  writings  of  very  many  lawyers \     Is  it 
then  wrong  to  exclude  those  verses  from  Ovid,  which  would 
make  a  young  man  worse  than  he  is  ?     So  many  works  of  so 
many  philosophers  and  holy  writers  have  been  lost,  would  it 
then    be   a   crime  if  TibuUus  or  the  Ars  Amandi  of  Ovid 
perished  ?     Whoever  will  undertake  this  expurgation  will  do  a 
great  service  not  only  to  his  contemporaries  and  to  posterity, 
but  also  to  poetry  itself  and  to  poets.     This  would  be,  as  in 
a   garden  ;    a    gardener    only    leaves    the    healthy    herbs,    and 
weeds  out  all  the  poisonous  plants.     In  this  way  poetry  will 
be  kept  from  ignominy  and  the  readers  from  an  evil  poison. 
When  however  poets  depict  the  bad,  let  those  who  read  know 
Poets  should      that  the  poems  are  only  pictures,  and  impress  upon 
be  purified.        them  that  they  are  the  pictures  very  often  of  the 
worst   men.     When  they  hear  about  gods,  let  them  think  of 
1  Prolegomena  de  lihris  Juris. 


CHAP,  v]        The  Reading  of  Authors  129 

them  as  kings,  when  of  heroes,  as  noblemen,  and  when  of 
men,  as  common  people.  Sometimes,  they  must  take  the  god 
as  standing  for  the  quahty  which  is  attributed  to  him,  for 
instance,  Jupiter  for  the  majesty  of  kingship;  Minerva  for 
wisdom  and  counsel ;  Mars  as  the  impulse  to  go  to  war ; 
Mercury  as  an  ambassador ;  Apollo  for  the  pleasure  of  know- 
ledge and  mental  clearness.  Reliance  on  the  poets  personally 
must  be  weakened.  They  had  great  natural  advantages  by 
their  inspiration,  but  still  they  were  men  of  ordinary  capacity, 
often  with  no  learning  or  experience  of  life,  or  at  any  rate  very 
little  ;  besides  they  were  slaves  to  evil  passions  and  tainted 
with  vice. 

Perhaps  someone  will  wonder  whence   comes    this    great 

admiration  for  them  not  only  among  the  common 

comes  the  people  but  cvcn   in  the   schools  of  those  who 

"authority"       follow   after   wisdom ?     There   are   reasons   for 

of  poets.  .  ,        , 

this.     The  poets  were  the  first  and  most  ancient 

writers  and  so  they  were  called  "  poets  " ;  and  all  men  have 

great  respect  for  what  is  ancient.     A  pleasant 

1.  ^Antiquity,      ^^yle  inspired  trust  in  them,  for  we  easily  believe 

2.  Eloquence,     vvhat  we  like  to  hear.    When  men  sowed  the  seeds 

3.  Instruction  -,,,..-,  ,.  i-i  i 

in  all  branches  of  all  kmds  of  knowledge  which  were  scattered 
know^dge  about  in  their  works,  they  were  thought  to  be 

perfect  in  them  all.  There  is  no  human  mind, 
however  silly  and  far  removed  from  human  instruction,  which 
has  not  received  from  nature  certain  germs  of  all  arts.  Whether 
the  germs  are  really  present  or  only  potential,  I  will  not  argue. 
And  if  this  happens  to  men  who  are  foolish  and  dull,  how 
much  more  to  those  who  are  endowed  with  sharpness  and 
The  seeds  of  keenness  of  wit  ?  So  we  find  with  our  own  poets, 
arts  are  found      ^ho  compose  poctry  in  the  vernacular  languages, 

even  in  our 

unlearned  and  who,   although  we  know  them   to   be  un- 

P°^*^"  learned  men,  yet  they  insert  into  their  poems 

such  things  as  we,  who  know  them,  marvel  that  they  should 
be  able  to  include ;  and  they  easily  persuade  the  ignorant  and 


130  Language  Teaching  [book  hi 

unlearned  that  they  have  pursued  every  branch  of  knowledge 
with  long  and  deep  study.  We  have  it  on  record  that  Aratus, 
who  knew  nothing  about  astrology,  and  Nicander  of  Colophon, 
who  had  nothing  to  do  with  agriculture,  wrote  most  elegant 
poetry  on  those  subjects.  A  divine  inspiration  came  upon 
them,  which  they  believed  incited  them  to  write,  and  so  their 
words  were  received  as  if  God  spoke  by  them,  as  it  were, 
through  a  reed.  Philosophers  have  indeed  abused  the  respect 
which  has  been  paid  them  so  far  as  to  allow  themselves  to 
persuade  the  people  as  they  wished  to  be  persuaded.  And 
because  the  minds  of  the  people  were  stirred  up,  and  through 
the  poetic  ardour  their  nature  was  raised  aloft,  they  thought 
that  whatever  they  heard  from  the  poets  was  as  fully  established 
as  if  it  were  by  the  teaching  of  nature. 

But  now  I  will  speak  of  individual  writers. 


CHAPTER    VI 

LATIN    AUTHORS 

The  whole  Course  of  Latin  Instruction.     Relation  of  classical  authors  to 
Instruction  in  History.     Reference  Books  for  Latin  Teaching. 

The    teacher    has    for   guides    to    the    rules    of   the   first 
Names  of  rudimeiits  of  language,  Donatus  among  the  older 

authors.  writers,  and  Nicolaus  Perottus,  Sulpitius  Veru- 

lanus,  Antonius  Nebrissensis,  Aldus  Manutius,  Philippus 
Melanchthon  among  the  later  writers.  Let  him  take  whichever 
he  pleases,  they  seem  to  me  about  equal  for  teaching  purposes. 
A  more  exact  work  is  still  required  for  the  syntax,  and  should 
be  written  in  verse  that  it  may  be  the  better  committed  to  the 
boy's  memory.  What  books  on  Syntax  we  have  up  to  now,  are 
merely  collections  of  examples  without  rules,  or  rules  with  too 
great  a  number  of  exceptions.  He  who  would  write  such  a 
book  of  syntax  would  require  much  reading  and  long  and 
careftil  observation  of  the  Latin  authors.     I  think 

Grammatical  ,i     ,    r-r^i  t  •  >       •      i         i  •    , 

writers  and  that  1  homas  Linacre  s  six  books  on  right  syntax 

restorers  of  Ug  Emendata  Strudiira)  would  help  a  punil  a 

knowledge.  .  i  i      i 

great  deal,  also  Mancinellus'  Thesaurus  and  the 
books  of  Lancilotus  Passius  on  Latin  Grammar  {de  Litteratura 
7ion  vulgari).  Meanwhile,  let  the  boys  use  the  rules  of  Antonius 
Nebrissensis  or  of  Philip  Melanchthon,  and  let  them  have  in 
addition  the  Uttle  book  on  the  eight  parts  of  speech  which 
passes  under  Erasmus'  name  ;  it  was  composed  by  Lily,  and 
revised  by  Erasmus. 


132  Language  Teaching  [book  hi 

The  Latin  tongue,  formerly,  as  all  others  also,  was  learned 
Authors  in  from  popular  usage,  but  after  the  state  became 

the  Latin  corrupted,  it  began  to  be  sought  in  the  writers, 

those,  that  is,  who  wrote  from  the  time  when 
Cato  was  Censor  to  the  time  when  Hadrian  was  Emperor. 
The  first  of  these  authors  is  Cato  himself,  and  the  last  Suetonius 
Tranquillus.  Here  we  have,  as  it  were,  the  progress  of  its  life. 
Its  childhood  coincides  with  the  age  of  Cato,  its  old  age  with 
that  of  Trajan  and  Hadrian,  and  its  prime  and  vigour  about  the 
time  of  M.  TuUius  Cicero,  not  but  what  there  were  amongst 
the  other  authors  who  followed  him  many  writers  who  in  their 
writings  included  brilliant,  poHshed  and  elegant,  passages, 
valuable,  some  for  grammar,  some  for  figurative 
decline  of  and  for  rhetorical  purposes.     But  for  some  reason 

the  Latin  ^j.    Qt]-,gi-   ^he  works  which  were  written  in  the 

language. 

time  of  Cicero  seem  more  original  and  natural, 
for  example,  his  own  works,  and  those  of  M.  Varro,  Caesar, 
Sallust,  Livy,  Vitruvius.  Afterwards  the  language  became  ex- 
travagant, and  changed  towards  voluptuousness  along  with  the 
ways  of  the  state,  so  that  the  writings  are  more  like  counterfeits 
and  semblances  than  the  earlier  ones,  and  the  writers  seem 
rather  to  want  to  please,  than  to  teach  or  to  express  in  words 
the  thoughts  of  their  minds.  So,  as  much  care  must  be  taken 
as  possible  that  the  words  and  phrases  used  belong  to  that 
earlier  century.  We  are  not,  however,  in  our  lack  of  knowledge 
and  amidst  the  difficulties  of  the  Latin  language  to  scorn  the 
works  of  later  writers,  Seneca,  Quintilian,  Pliny,  Tacitus  and 
their  contemporaries ;  otherwise  we  should  have  to  remain 
dumb,  and  form  no  opinion  of  all  the  numerous  and  varied 
subjects,  concerning  which  we  have  to  speak  in  the  arts  and 

sciences  and  in  the  affairs  of  daily  life,  hour  by 

Latin  authors        ,  r^.  .         .  -  .  , 

suited  for  the       hour.      1  he  good  Writers  of  Latin  are  not  always 
student  of  |-|-,g  niost  Suitable  for  a  grammarian  because  they 

grammar.  _         "  _  _    •' 

have  to  discuss  all  kinds  of  knowledge,  with  which 
the  student  of  correct  grammar  does  not  profess  to  concern 


CHAP,  vi]  Latin  Authors  133 

himself,  and  the  man  who  pursues  one  art  must  not  be  over- 
whelmed by  those  who  profess  many.  The  grammarians 
should  make  notes  from  those  writers  who  are  busied  in  the 
observation  of  other  knowledge  and  take  such  extracts  as  suit 
Latin  their  special  purpose.     From  all  these  authors  a 

dictionary.  Latin  lexicon  can  be  collected,  which  can  never 

be  too  full  or  accurate.  This  should  be  in  two  parts,  the  one 
containing  a  list  of  as  many  words  as  possible  with  a  short 
translation  of  each,  the  other  more  comprehensive  with  quota- 
tions bringing  in  each  word.  This  will  not  only  make  the 
reader  more  certain  in  translating,  but  will  also  show  how  the 
word  ought  to  be  used,  which  he  would  perhaps  never  learn 
without  the  example. 

It  is  well  in  a  Dictionary  to  give  two  parts,  the  one  to 
Antony  show   the   meaning  of  the   Latin  word  in  the 

Nebrissensis.  vulgar  tonguc,  the  Other  to  give  the  vulgar  word 
in  the  Latin,  as  Antonius  Nebrissensis  did  in  our  language 
(Spanish),  though  his  work  is  not  sufficiently  comprehensive, 
and  is  more  useful  to  beginners  than  to  more  advanced 
students.  Let  the  master  take  from  a  dictionary,  perfect  and 
flawless  in  all  its  parts,  whatever  words  are  needed  for  daily 
use,  so  that  he  may  collect  those  suitable  expressions  which  the 
boys  will  want  to  use.  At  first  easy  words  will  be  chosen  suited 
to  their  age  and  such  as  are  used  in  games.  Gradually  the  boy 
will  proceed  to  the  more  difficult  words  needed  to  describe 
Method  of  parts  of  the  house  and  all  its  furniture,  clothes, 

teaching  the        food,  the   weather,  horsemanship,  temples,   the 

vocabulary.  .  , 

heavens,  livmg  creatures,  plants,  the  Deity 
and  the  republic.  The  teacher  will  spice  all  these  with  jokes, 
witty  and  pleasant  stories,  lively  historical  narratives,  with 
proverbs,  parables,  apophthegms,  and  with  acute  short  precepts, 
sometimes  lively,  sometimes  grave.  Thus  the  pupils  will  drink 
in  willingly,  not  only  the  language,  but  also  wisdom  and 
experience  for  life  as  well.  There  are  however  certain  special 
technical  subjects  which  need  not  be  undertaken  by  boys  such 


134  Language   Teaching  [book  hi 

as  metaphysics,  medicine,  law,  jurisprudence  and  mathematics. 
Let  the  boy  leave  these  to  their  own  departmental  specialists, 
and  occupy  himself  with  the  commoner  things  of  life  such  as 
I  have  enumerated  above,  which  are  limited  to  no  age,  condition 
or  profession. 

Meantime,  while  we  have  no  dictionary  of  the  kind  I  have 
described,  the  teacher  must  himself  make  notes 

Which  authors       r  i   •  j-  r  i  ^  i 

should  be  \xow\  his  readmg  as  far  as  he  can,  so  as  to  supply 

placed  before       y^  \{y^  pupils  a  vocabularv  that  will    be   useful. 

the  pupils.  1        1  •  1 

Then  let  hnn  choose  easy  authors  for  reading, 
suited  to  the  capacity  of  his  pupils,  such  as  the  fables,  which 
delight  boys  of  the  earliest  age  and  prepare  them  for  more 
serious  subjects.  Modest  and  simple  little  verses,  such  as  the 
Distichs  of  Cato,  which  are  elegant  and  very  vvise,  and  those 
of  Michael  Varinus,  or  the  short  sayings  of  philosophers,  which 
they  may  learn  by  heart.  Then  should  follow  the  letters  of 
Pliny  Caecilius,  which  are  written  in  good  style  and  have  little 
flowers  of  speech  and  turns  of  expression  worthy  of  imitation, 
and  are  therefore  serviceable  for  the  courteousness  of  school 
pupils.  They  also  treat  of  matters  which  learned  men  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  discussing  and  of  writing  about ;  for  these 
reasons  teachers  have  learned  these  letters  by  heart,  and  prefer 
them,  because  of  their  sweetness  and  style,  to  even  the  letters 
of  Cicero,  a  choice  almost  criminal.  Aegidius  Calentius  has 
also    written    some    uncommonly    entertaining    letters,    which 

vastly  delight  boys.  For  variety  and  copious- 
of°e'xpress1o^  i^^ss  of  words  the  teacher  should  expound  the 
can  be  f^j-gt  part  of  Erasmus'  de  Copia,  and  after  having 

furnished.  .        ^  ,         ,  ,  ,  ■ 

given  examples  of  general  rules,  then  his  book 
on  correct  pronunciation  {de  7-ecta  Fronuntiatione  in  genere). 
Figures  of  speech  can  be  taken  from  Quintilian  or  Diomedes, 
or  Mancinellus,  or  John  Despauterius.  Peter  Mosellanus  has 
also  prepared  for  use  a  table  of  tigures  of  speech,  which  can 
be  hung  up  on  the  wall  so  that  it  will  catch  the  attention  of  the 
pupil  as  he  walks  past  it,  and  force  itself  upon  his  eyes.     The 


CHAP,  vi]  Latin  Authors  135 

boy  may  now  begin  to  apply  his  pen  (to  Latin  writing),  at  first 
using  what  others  have  written  in  prose,  and  he  should  be 
allowed  great  freedom  in  extracting  from  Latin  authors  not  only 
single  words,  but  also  phrases  and  whole  sentences ;  care, 
however,  being  taken  to  see  that  he  fits  them  in  properly  with 
his  own.  Erasmus'  second  book  of  the  de  Copia 
TnT^'lfme""  '  Rerum  may  follow.  Then  general  views  of  history 
may  be  ^lay  be  given,  with  divisions  into  some  well-known 

*^"^  *■  periods  and  named   like  well-known   roads,  for 

example  from  Adam  to  the  Flood,  from  the  Flood  to  Abraham, 
from  Abraham  to  Moses.  Then  to  the  Trojan  War,  from  this 
war  to  the  founding  of  Rome,  from  that  event  to  the  expulsion 
of  the  Kings,  from  that  time  to  the  capture  of  Rome  by  the 
Gauls.  Then  to  Alexander  of  Macedonia,  so  on  to  the  First 
Punic  War,  from  that  to  the  Second,  and  from  the  Second  to 
the  Third.  Then  to  Sulla  and  Marius  and  afterwards  to  the 
Birth  of  Christ.  From  the  Year  of  our  Lord  to  Constantine, 
then  to  the  Goths,  then  to  the  Huns,  to  Charles  the  Great ; 
then  to  the  election  of  the  Emperors  (Otto  I),  from  that  to 
Gottfried  of  Bouillon,  from  him  to  the  invasion  of  Europe  by 
the  Turks,  from  that  to  the  capture  of  Byzantium,  from  that 
event  to  the  re-taking  of  Granada,  and  lastly,  from  that  time  to 
Charles  V,  under  whom  we  live.  The  teacher  must  explain  in 
each  period  what  famous  wars  were  waged,  what  noteworthy 
towns  were  built,  and  what  celebrated  men  lived.  Besides 
supplying  these  particulars,  he  should  add  a  short  description 
of  the  whole  world,  of  the  chief  divisions  and  provinces,  and  of 
whatever  in  each  of  them  is  worthy  of  attention.  Pomponius 
Mela  is  useful  for  this  purpose. 

Now  the  pupil  can  proceed  to  those  purer  writers  who  are 
The  reading  "^^o^t  Worthy  of  imitation  ;  since  for  a  long  time 
of  authors.  pupils  ought  to  imitate  those  writers,  who  never 

let  down  their  followers,  until  they  become  so  accustomed  to 
the  best  style  that  they  can  Usten  to  other  writers  without 
danger.     Caesar  is  noticeably  the  most  useful  author  for  daily 


136  Language   Teaching  [hook  hi 

conversation;  Cicero'  says  that  his  style  is  pure  and  unspoiU, 
whilst  QuintiHan-  calls  it  elegant,  a  quality  to  the  cultivation  of 
which  Caesar  paid  special  attention.  In  addition  to  Caesar, 
let  the  pupil  read  Cicero's  letters  to  his  friends.  Those  letters 
which  he  wrote  to  Atticus  are,  however,  simpler  and  more 
useful  for  a  beginner,  with  the  exception  of  certain  passages, 
which  were  partly,  purposely  so  written  by  Cicero  on  industry, 
and  partly  have  been  so  perverted  through  ignorance  of  the 
times  that  it  is  now  impossible  to  restore  them. 

The  plays  of  Terence  were  thought  to  have  been  written 
by  Scipio  ^milianus-\  or  by  his  friend  C.  Laelius,  who  was 
called  the  Wise,  because  of  the  elegance  of  their  style,  and 
Caesar  calls  Terence  a  lover  of  a  pure  style.  The  works  ot 
Plautus  are  much  less  pure,  for  he  was  an  antiquarian,  and 
allowed  his  slave-characters  great  licence,  while  he  sought  to 
gain  the  laughter  and  applause  of  the  theatre  by  frowardness 
of  speech  and  by  not  too  much  purity  in  his  ideas.  I  should 
like  to  see  cut  out  of  both  of  these  writers  all  those  parts  which 
could  taint  the  minds  of  boys  with  vices,  to  which  our  natures 
approach  by  the  encouragement,  as  it  were,  of  a  nod. 

The  reading  of  the  poets  is  more  for  the  strengthening  of 

the  mind  and  raising  it  to  the  stars,  and  for  the 

cultivation  of  the  ornaments  of  discourse  than 

for    supplying    subject-matter    for   conversation.     The   comic 

1.  Comedians,     writers  are  nearer  prose  than  poetry.    The  tragic 

2.  Tragedians,  writers  come  midway  between  the  two.  They 
use  many  lofty  phrases,  which  are  too  bombastic  for  ordinary 
conversation,  but  also  many  phrases  which  can  be  applied  to 
ordinary  use.  Seneca  is  the  only  Latin  tragedian  left  to  us. 
I  think  the  early  ones  were  not  preserved  for  us  because  people 
thought  them  rough  and  crude,  and  did  not  value  at  a  high 
price  what  they  had  written.     Whilst  reading  poetry  the  pupil 

^  See  Cicero,  de  clar.  or  a.  ;  de  Oratore,  bk  II  and  III. 

-  Bk  X,  cap.  I,  a  little  before  the  end. 

^  i.e.  Scipio  Africanus — as  Quintilian  says:  x,  i. 


CHAP,  vi]  Latin  Authors  137 

must  learn  the  whole  scheme  of  prosody  and  the  exact  and 
minute  quantity  of  each  syllable.  Let  him  also  read  {aiidief) 
Virgil's  Bucolica.  In  studying  this  book  there  is  one  warning 
necessary,  which  applies  to  all  dramatists  who  introduce 
speeches  by  various  characters,  and  that  is,  that  there  are 
certain  words  and  forms  of  speech  which  suit  the  part  of  the 
person  speaking,  rather  than  that  they  are  correct.  These 
opinions  would  have  been  expressed  differently  by  the  writers, 
if  they  had  put  the  words  in  the  mouths  of  other  people.  This 
occurs  chiefly  in  the  practice  of  the  comic  writers  and  those 
whose  aim  is  more  to  amuse  the  reader  than  to  compose 
seriously.  We  see  this  happens  daily  in  compositions  in  the 
vernacular  languages.  Therefore  we  must  not  seek  for  examples 
from  Plautus  to  verify  the  soundness  of  our  Latin,  nor  from 
Terence,  although  he  is  more  sparing  of  licence  in  this  respect, 
nor  from  'J'heocritus  for  the  Dorian  dialect,  nor  from  Virgil 
in  his  Eclogues,  from  which  book  certain  people  quoted  two 
verses  with  much  ostentation,  wishing  to  make  it  appear  that 
they  were  fine  Latinists  : 

Die  mihi  Dameta  cuium  pecus  ?   an  ne  Latinum  ? 

Non,  verum  Aegonis  :    uostri  sic  rure  loquuntur^. 

They  either  did  not  know  or  pretended  not  to  know  that 
Virgil  was  striving  to  catch  the  charm  of  the  country  dialect, 
in  which  kind  of  effort  Theocritus  allowed  himself  considerable 
indulgence. 

Next  the  teacher  should  explain  some  of  the  Odes  of 
Which  oets  Horace.  He  should  add  some  Christian  poets, 
should  be  the  ancient  Prudentius,  and  our  modern  writer 

in  erpre  e  .  Baptista  of  Mantua,  who  is  more  copious  and 

fluent  than  free  from  mistakes.  Nor  is  he  sufficiently  responsive 
to  the  loftiness  of  his  themes.  Even  in  the  hymns  of  Pru- 
dentius there  is  much  to  be  desired  in  the  Latinity. 

After  these  should  follow  Virgil's  Georgica  and  the  Rusticus 
of  Politianus.  Then  the  pupil  should  begin  to  compose  verses 
^  Virgil,  Eclogues  iii,  i,  2. 


138  Language   Teaching  [book  hi 

himself.  The  teacher  sliould  expound  the  fables  of  the  Meta- 
morphoses of  Ovid  and  the  six  books  of  his  Fasti  (since  no 
more  have  come  down  to  us)  for  the  better  knowledge  of 
mythology.  Some  of  Martial's  Epigrammata  may  be  selected. 
Let  Persius  be  added,  because  the  ancients  thought  him  well 
worth  reading,  as  Quintilian^  Martial  and  St  Jerome  bear 
witness.  To  these  authors  should  follow  the  Aeneid,  Virgil's 
great  work,  full  of  serious  and  lofty  matters,  which  does  not 
even  yield  in  importance  to  the  Iliad".  The  poem  of  Lucan 
has  great  virility  and  is  most  warlike,  so  that  he  does  not  seem 
to  sing  of  battles,  but  to  fight  them  before  us,  and  to  blow  the 
trumpet,  and  to  describe  the  weapons  with  as  much  fervour  as 
Caesar  wielded  them  ;  so  that  his  sounds  are,  as  it  were,  too 
vast  and  unrestrained  for  the  ears  of  some  people  and  they 
cannot  bear  to  read  him. 

But  we  must   not  ignore   the  fact,   that    poetry  is  to   be 
The  poetic  relegated  "to  the  leisure  hours  of  life."     It  is 

mind.  jjQi-  ^Q  ije  consumed  as  if  it  were  nourishment, 

but  is  to  be  treated  as  a  spice.  I  consider  that  man  to  have 
a  poetical  temperament  who  possesses  great  passion,  which 
sometimes  raises  him  above  the  usual  and  ordinary  state  of  his 
nature,  and  in  this  elation  he  conceives  lofty  and  almost 
heavenly  inspirations.  Then  the  sharpness  of  his  mind  con- 
templates and  concentrates  itself  on  not  only  great  and 
animated  ideas,  but  also  arranges  them  and  thus  causes  within 
his  body  a  harmony,  derived  from  the  exaltation  of  his  mind. 

In  history  let    the    pupil   become    acquainted   with    some 
books  of  Livy  and  in  addition  let  the  teacher 
torians  should      lecturc  upon  Valerius  Maximus,  for  this  author 
tie  read.  ^^^    Contribute    many    ornamental   words    and 

phrases  for  the  painting  of  eloquence,  such  as  he  puts,  for 
instance,  at  the  beginning  and  at  the  end  of  each  chapter, 
though  they  are  perhaps  more  elegant  than  sometimes  befits 
the  heaviness  of  his  subjects. 

1  ]3]^  X,  cap.  I.  "  Quintilian,  bk  X,  cap.  i. 


CHAP,  vi]  Latin  Authors  139 

Lastly,  Cicero's  Orations  will  hold  a  place  in   the  boy's 

studies.     In  them  are  found  grace,  insight,  and 

^'"^°'  all  the  qualities  of  a  good  style.     The  master 

should  pick  out  which  he  wants  to  explain  to  his  pupil,  for  it 

is  not  necessary  to  read  through  them  all. 

From  all  these  works  that  I  have  suggested  let  the  pupil 
learn  by  heart  whatever  the  instructor  directs  ;  but  whatever 
authors  may  be  expounded,  some  writers  who  discuss  morals 
ought  to  be  heard  twice  every  week,  so  as  to  correct  the  faults 
of  the  hearers,  and  either  to  drive  them  away  from  students,  or 
to  prevent  them  from  making  inroads  on  them  and  growing  up 
in  them. 

The  master  will  expound  these  authors  but  the  pupil,  after 
Private  read-  he  has  mastered  the  first  elements  and  can 
i"s-  discern  more  clearly  the  meaning  of  the  books, 

should  study  them  privately.     In  the  grammatical  art  let  the 
scholar  then  read  Thomas  Linacre,  who  revealed 
Linacre.  ^^^^^  mysteries  in  the  Latin  language  and  re- 

corded them  without  introducing  any  irreverence.     Then  the 
two  Antoniuses,   Nebrissensis    and   Mancinellus.     Laurentius 
Valla  affords  the  chief  help   in  the   choice  of 
^^"^'  elegant  words.     It  is  true  that  he  is  somewhat 

pedantic  in  some  parts,  but  he  is  extremely  useful  for  students. 
Whenever  he  says  that  a  certain  word  is  not  to  be  found  in  any 
writer,  we  must  rely  upon  his  judgment  for  the  time  being,  and 
not  use  the  word  until  we  read  it  in  a  writer  of  indisputable 
correctness.  Add  to  these  authors  some  of  those  who  explain 
the  ancient  writers  but  only  the  commentators  on  those 
classical  authors  whom  the  teacher  will  explain  in  detail ;  as 
for  example  Servius  Honoratus,  or  others  like  him.  Cardinal 
Hadrian  Castelleschi  is  of  no  small  value  in  the  collection  of 
instances,  although  he  is  of  less  use  for  the  purposes  of 
teaching  than  he  should  be,  as  he  is  too  sparing  in  his  expo- 
sition of  rules.  He  thought  he  had  done  enough  in  collecting 
the  sayings   of  the    authors,   and  he  timidly   refrained   from 

F.  w,  9 


140  Language   Teaching  [book  hi 

explaining  difficulties.  Guillaume  Bud^  did  a  great  service 
for  Latin  in  his  two  books  on  the  Pandects  and 
his  five  books  on  Coinage  {de  Asse),  and  he 
has  rendered  most  important  aid  in  the  study  of  Latin  by  his 
careful  investigation  of  both  the  subject-matter  and  vocabulary 
in  both  of  those  works. 

The  writers  of  Roman  discourse  must  be  diligently  studied, 
for  if  those  ancients,  who  drank  in  with  their  mother's  milk  the 
language  which  we  have  to  acquire,  said  that  they  ought  to  be 
studied,  and  that  by  reading  them  language  was  refined  and 
width  and  fluency  in  Latin  acquired,  what  do  you  think  we 
ought  to  do  to  whom  the  language  is  foreign,  and  seeing  that 
we  have  to  take  it  in  drop  by  drop  ?  In  history  let  the  pupil 
read  the  rest  of  the  books  of  Livy  ;  his  Paduan  provincialities, 
which  Asinius  Pollio  noticed,  we  do  not  now  perceive,  for  we 
have  not  now  such  a  refined  or  so  scrupulous  a  taste^  as  he  had. 
Then  let  the  boy  read  Cornelius  Tacitus,  who  has  written 
indeed  certain  somewhat  difficult  passages  which  are  not  to  be 
imitated  without  danger,  but  he  is  sublime,  bold,  and  possesses 
much  power-.  Then  follows  Sallust,  who  has  borrowed  much 
from  the  ancients,  a  fact  which  was  expressed  in  a  popular 
epigram.  Atteius  Philologus  warned  Pollio  to  avoid  the  ob- 
scurity of  Sallust.  I  wonder,  therefore,  all  the  more  that  he 
should  be  given  to  boys  to  read.  Still  to  those  readers  who 
understand  him  he  is  a  most  pleasant  writer,  and  such  readers 
are  never  weary  of  reading  his  books. 

For  a  knowledge  of  mythological  poetry  the  pupil  has 
Giovanni  Boccaccio,  who,  although  he  has  borrowed  very  much 
from  Ovid  and  from  those  other  authors  whom  I  have  men- 
tioned, yet  he  has  reduced  the  genealogy  of  the  gods  to  one 
book,  more  happily  than  could  have  been  expected  in  that 
century,  although  he  is  often  too  discursive  and  trivial  in  his 
mythological  accounts. 

^  See  Quintilian,  bk  i,  cap.  9  and  bk  viii,  cap.  i. 
2  Quintilian,  bk  iv,  cap.  2. 


CHAP,  vi]  Latin  Authors  141 

The  pupils  should  choose  Cato,  Varro,  Columella,  Palladius, 
who  wrote  on  the  country,  and  Vitruvius,  who 

Authors  to  be  r       x       •  l     i  j 

foUowed  by         wrote  on  architecture,  for  Latin  vocabulary,  and 
choice  o7  imitate  them  as  their  guides,  for  in  them  very 

diction.  grgat  is  the  abundance  of  the  most  classical  and 

most  appropriate  names  for  every  possible  thing.  Cato  is  an 
antiquarian,  but  you  will  tind  in  him  words  not  to  be  found  in 
any  other  writer.  Varro  is  rough  and  suitable  for  artificers. 
Columella  is  more  elegant  and  exact;  so  is  Palladius,  with  the 
exception  of  certain  words  and  idiomatic  twists  which  belong 
to  his  own  time,  for  he  wrote  in  the  time  of  Hadrian.  Vitruvius 
often  uses  Greek  terms,  and  is  at  first  difficult  to  understand, 
even  with  the  help  of  the  illustrations  of  a  certain  Jucundus 
of  Verona,  because  that  old  style  of  architecture  has  gone  out 
of  use,  so  that  Budaeus  says,  not  without  reason,  of  Vitruvius, 
"that  it  is  not  every  man's  business  to  go  to  Corinth."  To 
these  authors  one  may  add  Grapaldus  on  the 
authors  are  to  House  {de  Domo),  uot  because  of  his  style,  but 
befouowed.  bccausc  of  his  explanation  of  words.  He  at- 
tempted more  than  he  accomplished,  and  almost  everything  is 
taken  from  the  above-mentioned  writers  and  from  PHny.  Where 
he  is  uncertain  himself,  he  has  left  the  reader  uncertain  also. 
Further,  let  the  [advanced]  pupil  read  all  the  orations  of  Cicero 
and  all  the  declamations  of  Quintilian. 

There  are  some  modern  writers  who  can  add  something 
to  the  pupil's  style.  Longolius  apes  Cicero,  and  so  does 
Jovianus  Pontanus,  but  the  latter  has  less  of  Ciceronian  anti- 
quity than  Longolius.  Angelus  Politianus  has  great  brightness. 
Erasmus  has  wonderful  fluency  and  lucidity.  Since  he  is  yet 
living  he  is  to  be  reckoned  more  among  the  modern  authors, 
for  he  thus  is  more  like  us  than  the  ancients  who  are  far  removed 
from  us  in  a  certain  method  of  thinking  and  of  morals. 

The  following  books  should  be  accessible  in  a  library  for 
Books  for  reference;    Varro's   three  books   on    the  Latin 

consultation.       tougue    {de    LiHgtia    Latino)    which    are    very 

9—2 


142  Language   Teaching  [book  hi 

involved  and  singular  in  their  style  and,  on  that  account,  have 
been  spoilt  and  corrupted  by  the  copyists.  The  abridge- 
ment of  Festus  Pompeius.  Nonius  Marcellus.  Of  the  more 
recent  writers,  the  Cornucopiae  of  Nicolaus  Perottus,  a  book 
which  no  one  will  ever  repent  spending  time  in  studying  if 
he  can  find  leisure.  Nestor,  who  is  not  very  learned. 
Tortellius,  who  is  careful  in  his  orthography.  Ambrosias 
Calepinus  compiled  his  dictionary  from  these  writers.  He 
was  a  very  good  compiler,  but  was  not  good  at  supplying 
the  deficiencies  of  others. 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE   STUDY   OF   GREEK 

Teaching  of  Greek.     When  to  begin.     Order  of  Study  of  Authors. 

We  have  now  described  the  course  for  instruction  in  Latin. 
The  study  of  Afterwards,  the  beginnings  of  Greek  ought  to 
Greek;  by  be  brought  UD  to  the  samc  level  so  that  the 

what  authors  •  i       i 

it  is  best  two  may  proceed  together  side  by  side, 

promoted.  Certain  Greek   tables  can  be   used  for  the 

first  elements,  for  instance,  those  of  Aleander  or  someone 
like  him,  from  which  the  pupil  can  gain  a  knowledge  of  the 
sounds  and  accents  of  the  syllables.  Then  he  should  learn 
the  declensions  and  the  conjugations  from  the  first  book  of 
Theodore  Gaza,  which  Erasmus  has  translated.  Then  the 
scholar  should  translate  Aesop's  Fables,  because  the  words 
in  them  are  easy  and  the  sense  is  suited  to  that  stage. 
A  Greek  proverb  pointed  at  the  ignorant  shows  that  the 
Greeks  themselves  used  to  begin  with  Aesop.  Let  the  second 
book  of  Gaza  be  added  to  these.  In  it  he  expatiates  with 
lively  emphasis  on  what  he  only  hinted  at  in  the  first  book 
and  then  turned  aside  from  it.  He  treats  the  subject  quite 
in  accordance  with  the  manner  of  Aristotle  and  with  its  natural 
requirements.  Then  some  oration  of  a  pure  and  easy  writer, 
e.g.  of  Isocrates  or  Lucian,  should  be  put  into  the  pupil's 
hand,  provided  it  is  not  of  a  corrupting  influence ;  or  a 
discourse  even  of  John  Chrysostom,  whose  Greek  is  pure 
and  extremely  clear.     Syntax  was  not  very  carefully  sketched 


r44  Language   Teaching         [book  iti 

by  the  Greeks,  because  the  language  was  well  spoken  for  a 
longer  time  by  the  people  than  was  the  case  with  Latin,  so 
that  there  was  less  need  for  scrutiny  and  rules,  and  also  Greek 
constructions  are  highly  varied  and  could  scarcely  be  confined 
to  the  channel  of  the  current  speech.  Theodore  presents  a 
good  deal  of  material  in  the  fourth  book.  John  Lascaris  has 
sketched  out  rules  in  imitation  of  Latin,  but  they  are  very 
faulty.  Gaza's  rules  are  also  very  unsuitable  for  teaching. 
The  chief  thing  is  to  note  in  what  ways  Greek  and  Latin 
differ  in  their  constructions.  Now  let  the  pupil  begin  to 
translate  something  to  us  and  to  gain  a  knowledge  of  the 
propriety  in  both  languages,  and  to  prepare  a  good  vocabulary. 
Then  he  should  draw  out  the  ornaments  and  elegance  of  Greek 
discourse  and  turn  them  to  use  in  his  Latin  composition. 
Let  him  also  learn  prosody  and  orthography,  in  both  of 
which  the  Greeks  are  most  clear  and  unhesitating,  although 
in  many  cases  each  writer  does  as  he  pleases.  Gaza  discusses 
these  points  in  the  third  book.     The  Greek  lan- 

Punty  of  ^ 

the  Greek  guage  remained  untouched  and  pure  longer  than 

anguage.  ^^^.^  j--^^^  Latin]  because  it  was  less  exposed  to 

the  attacks  of  the  barbarians  than  the  language  of  the  West. 
Its  most  flourishing  time,  and  the  age  in  which  it  came 
to  fruition,  was  when  Athens  specially  prospered  and  the 
whole  of  Greece  flourished ;  that  is,  from  the  tyranny  of 
Pisistratus  to  the  death  of  Demosthenes.  Nothing  was 
written  worth  reading  before  Pisistratus,  or  even  before 
Pericles.  A  great  deal  was  written  after  Demosthenes,  it 
is  true,  but  it  is  scarcely  to  be  compared  with  the  purity  of 
the  language  in  that  age.  Therefore  let  the  teacher  expound 
a  i&w  letters  of  Demosthenes,  Plato  and  Aristotle,  some  speech 
of  Demosthenes,  and  something  from  those  ten  orators,  whom 
Athens  produced  in  the  same  age.  A  Greek  dictionary  is  still 
a  desideratum.  It  should  be  copious  and  full,  such  as  I  have 
described  as  desirable  in  a  Latin  dictionary.  Before  the  pupil 
passes  on  to  the  poets,  let  him  learn  something  about  the  dialects, 


CHAP,  vii]  The  Study  of  Greek  145 

concerning  which  there  is  a  little  work  by  John  Philoponus 
«.u-  u  r^     1        and  another  by  Corinthus.       Then  let  him  hear 

Which  Greek  •'^ 

authors  are  to  sonie  rhapsodlcs  of  the  father  of  all  poets, 
namely  Homer.  Then  one  or  other  comedy 
of  Aristophanes  and  some  tragedies  of  Euripides,  who  are  very 
elegant  authors  amongst  the  few  Attic  writers.  Aristophanes 
is  gay  whilst  Euripides,  as  Quintilian '  says,  is  on  a  level  with 
the  greatest  philosophers  on  account  of  the  deep  seriousness 
of  his  maxims.  The  Doric  Theognis  (he  was  Sicilian)  and  the 
Ionian  Phocilydes  are  also  to  be  recommended  for  the  sake  of 
their  precepts. 

After  these  writers  the  remainder  of  Homer  must  be 
The  merits  of  Studied.  First  the  pupil  must  carefully  listen 
Homer.  jq  ^jg  teacher's   explanation  and   then  read  it 

over-alone.  Many  passages  must  also  be  learned  by  heart. 
Many  are  the  qualities  of  this  great  man.  It  would  take  too 
much  time  and  trouble  to  enumerate  them  all.  In  the  first 
place  he  not  only  seems  to  mean  what  he  writes,  but  also  to 
make  it  stand  out  before  the  reader's  eyes-.  He  possesses 
a  great  and  effective  power  of  presenting  pictures,  in  which 
beyond  controversy  he  surpasses  all  later  poets.  He  gives 
fitting  expression  not  only  to  the  movements  of  the  body 
but  also  to  those  hidden  actions  of  the  mind,  which  the 
senses  do  not  represent.  So  that  in  his  poems"  there  seems 
to  be  nothing  else  but  a  continual  reflexion  of  human  life. 
His  sense  of  common  human  feeling  is  so  strong,  and  every- 
thing that  he  says  is  so  much  in  accord  with  the  actuality  of 
life  that,  after  all  these  centuries,  with  their  altered  customs 
and  habits  and  changes  in  the  whole  way  of  living,  his  words, 
precepts,  conversations,  speeches  etc.  are  still  suitable  to  our 
age  and  for  every  other.     And  therefore  it  happens  that  he 

•  Bk  X,  chap.  i. 

"  See  Quintilian,  bk  i,  chap.  13  and  bk  X,  chap.  i. 
^  Anaxagoras  in  Laertius,  bk  il,  says  Homer's  poem  is  made  up  of  virtue 
and  justice. 


146  Language   Teaching  [book  in 

has  endured  for  so  long  a  space  of  time,  and  through  so  many 
centuries  has  not  only  attained  the  authority  of  antiquity  but 
also  remains  as  a  delight  to  modern  readers,  since  he  preserves 
the  charm  of  novelty  in  every  portion  of  his  works.     Still  he 

has  his  faults,  which  we  will  mention  in  order 
Hom^er"noted  that  they  may  be  avoided,  just  as  we  enumerated 
by  Jerome  hjg   good   points,  which   are  to  be  imitated,  if 

only  anyone  possesses  sufficient  fluency  and 
force  to  do  so.  Jerome  Vida  accuses  Homer  of  being  too 
superficial  and  wordy,  and  of  digressing  too  much  and  intro- 
ducing what  is  superfluous  in  his  stories.  He  does  not  hesitate 
to  prefer  Virgil  and  other  Latin  writers  to  him,  because  they 
are  terser  and  more  restrained.  The  Greeks  are  liable  to  this 
fault,  because  they  have  followed  Homer  too  closely,  and  some- 
times even  have  outdone  him  and  have  become  tedious.  «  Nor 
does  Vida  like  the  descriptions  of  the  chariots  in  the  midst 
of  the  picture  of  battle  and  the  invective  against  Thersites, 
although  the  latter  is  intended  to  let  the  reader  see  what 
sort  of  a  man  had  dared  to  revile  the  king,  whilst  the  heroes 
kept  silence.  He  also  condemns  his  humble,  and  sometimes 
mean,  similes,  as  when  he  compares  the  soldiers  to  flies  in 
a  meal-sack,  or  Ajax  to  an  ass,  which  will  not  leave  its  pasture 
although  beaten  with  sticks.  Virgil  speaks  more  fittingly,  for 
he  compares  the  armies  to  ants  and  bees,  which  are  much 
nobler  insects  than  flies.  Besides  it  is  hardly  .fitting  for 
Diomedes  and  Glaucus  to  converse  so  idly  in  the  midst  of 
the  fight.  Many  repetitions,  such  as  we  also  see  in  the 
Sacred  Writings,   seem  to   belong  to  that  period  of  history. 

The  same  epithets  ought  not  to  be  repeated 
e  epi  e  s.  everywhere,  for  Paris  calls  Menelaus  dpT^i^tAos 
(i.e.  beloved  of  Ares)  just  as  the  Greeks  do,  and  the  Trojans 
call  the  Achaians  ei^/cvT^/xtSes  (i.e.  well-greaved),  and  in  the 
middle  of  the  single  combat  Menelaus  calls  Alexander  ^eios 
(i.e.  divine)  and  at  the  same  time  upbraids  him  as  an  evil-doer 
and  a  violator  of  hospitality,  so  that  the  epithets  only  seem 


CHAP,  vii]  The  Shtdy  of  Greek  147 

to  be  added  for  the  sake  of  the  metre  of  verse  and  not  for  the 
Homer  meaning  or  for  gracefulness.     The  way  in  which 

defended.  |-i-,g  ^ork  was  composed  may  excuse  these  faults, 

for  Homer  did  not  compose  the  whole  at  one  time  when  he 
could  have  weighed  everything  carefully  and  eliminated  the 
faulty,  but  he  composed  it  in  separate  rhapsodies  to  be  sung 
for  the  popular  pleasure.  These  rhapsodies  were  all  collected 
long  afterwards,  and  arranged  by  the  grammarians  at  the  com- 
mand, and  under  the  supervision,  of  Pisistratus 

Pisistratus.  .    ,    ,  ,^,  .  i        i         i  i 

of  Athens.  Tnis  may  also  be  the  reason  why  no 
one  ever  remembered  the  descent,  or  even  the  native  land, 
of  Homer.  Now  indeed  there  exist  two  works  by  Homer, 
the  one  is  full  of  passion  {caiidus),  the  other  full  of  craft 
{callidus).  The  two  works  contain  many  things  which  do 
not  serve  as  good  examples  for  imitation,  and  whatever  he 
says  about  the  nature  of  things  or  the  morals  of  men  his  too 
zealous  admirers  twist  into  any  meaning  they  wish. 

This   however   is   enough   about    Homer.     If   the   reader 

likes  he  may  add  for  reading  what  is  left  us 

Which  of  the  r.-  i  it-.--i  i  ij» 

other  Greek  oi  Aristophancs  and  Euripides,  then  the  epya 
poets  should  ^^^^  rifjiepaL  (i.e.  JVorks  and  Days)  of  Hesiod  and 
a  few  Greek  epigrams  which  are  witty  without 
being  immoral.  Lastly  let  the  pupil  read  Pindar,  who  is  hard 
to  understand  and  uses  a  great  many  unknown  out-of-the-way 
words,  and  the  Academician  Archesilaus  says  that  Pindar  is 
especially  useful  for  emphatic  speech  and  for  the  collection 
of  a  good  and  abundant  vocabulary.  Theocritus'  pastorals 
in  the  Doric  dialect  are  very  charming,  but  the  allegory  must 
be  explained  in  order  to  make  them  more  intelligible,  just  as 
is  the  case  with  Virgil's  BucoUca,  otherwise  they  are  mostly 
uninteresting  to  the  point  of  chilling  the  student. 

In  history  the  pupil  should  read  Herodian  aloud  in  order 
Herodian.  to  compare  him  with  the  translation  of  Angelus 

Pohtian.  Politianus.     He  is  himself  a  very  clear  and  easy 

writer  but  Politianus  has  translated  him  with  such  charm  that 


148  Language   Teaching         [book  hi 

the  work  seems  to  have  been  composed  by  a  Lalui  writer,  not 
by  a  Greek.  Then  add  Xenophon's  Helknica,  for  you  will 
find  nothing  purer  and  more  unaffected  on  the  subject.  We 
would  also  recommend  some  of  Thucydides'  books,  though  he 
is  indeed  a  difficult  and,  so  to  say,  an  iron  writer. 

For  the  student's  own  reading,  I  should  recommend  the 
following :  the  Dragtnata  of  Oekolampadius  for 

What  Greek  «    i    •  .  ■  r  ^      t         • 

grammarians  grammar ;  Adnauus  Amerotms  for  declensions 
the  pupil  ^^^  coniuc;ations  ;    Urbanus  for  the  knowledge 

should  read.  . 

as  to  poets  and  literatures.  The  commentators 
of  these  poets,  whom  I  have  named,  explain  many  obscure 
expressions,  and  there  is  no  poet,  who  has  not  got  something 
obscure  about  him.  Homer  possesses  the  best-known  com- 
mentator of  all,  Eustathius  of  Constantinople.  Add  to  him 
Commentaries  Thouias  Magister  on  Atticisms.  For  its  political 
of  Budaeus.  contents  the  Commentarii  Graecae  linguae  is  of 
the  first  importance,  a  work  which  is  most  carefully  composed, 
like  Bude's  Latin  works.  Many  parts  were  abstruse  and  he  has 
brought  light  to  these  dark  and  obscure  matters.  For  the 
writers  of  the  language  itself  let  the  pupil  study  Isocrates 
carefully,  for  no  one  could  express  himself  more  simply  and 
purely.    Then  Xenophon  and  the  ten  orators.     Lucian's  words 

are  well  chosen  and  very  clear,  but  being  an 

Lucian.  ...,.,  .       ,  .^  .      ,         , 

Asiatic,  his  language  is  drawn  up,  as  if  in  battle- 
array  and  is  too  rhetorical,  whilst  his  subject-matter  is  woefully 
scanty.  Let  the  reader  add  to  these  autliors  the  Attic 
Thucydides,  and  Herodotus,  who,  though  an  Ionian,  is  still 
easier.  For  miscellaneous  information  let  him  possess 
Aristotle's  work  on  Atiinials  and  Theophrastus'  work  on 
Plants.  Both  have  been  so  translated  into  Latin  by  Gaza 
that  it  is  most  advantageous  to  compare  the  Greek  and  the 
Latin  of  the  two  books  as  one  reads.  For  the  rest,  it  is  well 
to  read  those  books  with  more  regard  to  the  expression  and 
style  than  for  the  way  the  subject-matter  in  them  is  treated. 
In  Demosthenes,  who  is  to  be  constantly  in   the  hand,  the 


CHAP,  vii]  The  Study  of  Greek  149 

most  complete  vigour  and  charm  of  diction  are  to  be  found, 
just  as  I  have  remarked  is  the  case  with  the  Latin  language 
employed  in  the  orations  of  Cicero. 

ThaJbllovving  books  should  be  kept  for  reference  in  the 
library  :  a  twofold  dictionary  (Greek- Latin   and 

Which  Greek        —  ~   ~  .  . 

works  are  to  Latin-Greek) ;  Hesychius  for  an  interpretation 
e  consu  e  .  ^^  ^^  words  of  poets,  particularly  Homer. 
Julius  Pollux  provides  a  variety  of  expressions  and  a  copious 
vocabulary,  but  he  is  of  more  value  to  a  learned  reader,  for  he 
is  more  serviceable  in  giving  hints  to  the  learned  than  in  his 
guidance  to  the  unlearned. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

CLASSICAL   PHILOLOGY 

The  Study  of  Classical  Philology. 

There  are  certain  writers  in  both  Latin  and  Greek  wlio 
Authors  in  incIudc  in  the  same  volume  history  and  fables,  the 

the  "  mixed  "      explanation  of  words,  orations  and  philosophy. 

languages  of  .  .  ... 

Latin  and  Their   true   and    appropriate    name   is   that   ol 

^^^^^-  "philologist."     Of  this  kind  we  have  in  Greek 

Suidas  and  Athenaeus  ;  in  both  languages  Aulus  Gellius,  a 
true  rhapsodist,  a  compiler  rather  than  a  com- 
poser, more  pretentious  than  his  knowledge 
warrants,  full  of  words  without  wisdom,  and  affected  in  his 
words  and  precepts.  What  he  says  about  the  meaning  of 
words  is  silly,  and  for  the  most  part  is  wrong,  and  displays  his 
ignorance.  He  may  be  read,  but  with  a  consciousness  of  the 
slightness  of  his  value.  His  imitator,  Peter  Crinitus,  has  more 
intelligence.  For  philology  much  can  be  gathered  from  the 
study  of  St  Augustine's  ^/e  Civitate  Dei  and  Erasmus'  Adages. 
What  is  gained  from  these  works  will  prepare  the  youth,  so  that 
he  shall  not  come  to  the  reading  of  the  great  writers  quite  as 
a  stranger  and  a  novice.  The  annotations  of  Budaeus  in  the 
Pandects  and  O/i  Coifiage  (which  I  mentioned  before)  are 
of  the  same  kind;  also  the  Lectiones  Antiquae  of  Caelius 
(Rhodiginus),  which  sometimes  shock  not  only 

Rhodiginus.  ,  ,  ..  .     .  .  .      ^         ^  l^. 

by  the  antiquity  of  the  subject-matter  but  also 
by  the  archaic  language  used.  The  Sati/rnalia  of  Macrobius 
Textor's  Contain  good  and  useful  maUer.      Peter  Textor 

officina.  has  wovcu  ouly  a  thin  piece  of  cloth,  but  it  is 


CHAP,  viii]  Classical  Philology  151 

sometimes  well  to  consult  his   Officina.     His  work,  however, 

is  confused  and  not  always  reliable,  for  he  was  a  writer  quite 

ignorant  of  Greek,  nor  did  he  possess  great  skill  in  Latin, 

but  he  deserves  some  praise  for  his  earnestness. 

Volaterranus.         ^       ,        ,         .     ,^    ,  ^     r  i  • 

Raphael  of  Volterra,  a  man  of  far-reachmg 
learning,  should  be  mentioned  here  among  the  others.  I  do 
isodorus  J^ot    know   whether   grammarians   would   suffer 

Hispaiensis.  Isidore  of  Seville  to  sHp  into  this  class.  He  gives 
us  many  facts  from  antiquity  which  are  not  to  be  despised, 
especially  since  the  sources  from  which  he  acquired  his  know- 
ledge no  longer  exist.  There  remain  other  writers  in  both 
languages  whom  it  will  be  necessary  to  get  to  know,  partly  in 
connexion  with  the  various  branches  of  knowledge,  on  account 
of  the  subject-matter  they  contain,  and  partly,  need  only  be 
read  by  those  who  are  specialists  in  the  subjects  of  these 
writers,  or  such  as  one  takes  up  when  one  is  tired  of  higher 
studies,  and  can  make  time  for  mental  recreation. 

This  is  the  plan  of  instruction  for  eight  or  nine  years,  from 
the  seventh  to  the  fifteenth  or  even  sixteenth  year,  according 
to  the  capacity  and  progress  of  each  pupil.  I  know  that 
I  have  lingered  long  on  this  subject  of  language  teaching. 
I  have  done  so  because  many  children  are  badly  instructed  in 
childhood,  although  so  much  depends  on  how  the  foundations 
are  laid  from  the  beginnings.  For  all  later  knowledge  and 
learning  pour  forth  their  streams  in  different  directions  from 
these  springs. 

Instruction  in  languages  should  go  thus  far,  even  for  those 

who  are  prepared  and,  as  it  were,  are  educated 

are  fitted  for        for  Studying  Other  branches    of  knowledge,  or 

reading  Greek      f^j.  )-}^Qgg  ^ho   pursuc  the  philological  sciences 

authors.  .  ^  i  o 

for  their  own  culture  and  pleasure,  and  wish  to 
confine  themselves  simply  to  the  knowledge  of  these  subjects. 
For  those  who  are  slow-minded  and  foolish,  and  who  apply 
themselves  to  higher  studies  ineffectively,  or  are  wrongly 
suspicious  of  them,   who   only  accept  what  they  hear  on  its 


152  Language   Teaching  [book  hi 

worst  side,  it  will  be  sufficient  if  they  learn  Latin  and  just  a  very 
little  Greek,  and  they  should  be  kept  ofif  from  reading  higher 
authors.  Let  them  however  learn  enough  of  the  language  to 
converse  with  men,  otherwise  they  will  become  wild  and  sense- 
less, but  it  is  better  to  keep  them  away  from  the  language  of 
the  learned  lest  they  should  not  understand  more  difficult  and 
less  obvious  points  in  the  languages,  and  this  should  lead  to 
^^       ,       ,        the  great  injury  of  themselves  and  others.    Those 

The  value  of  °  -'■'.. 

language  who  are  sounder  in  wit  and  judgment,  but  do  not 

s  u  y  or  1  e.  yy^nt  to  go  further,  or  cannot  conveniently  ascend 
to  higher  studies,  let  them  be  content  with  a  knowledge  of 
the  languages  and  the  writers.  This  knowledge  will  be  of 
use  in  life,  and  such  youths  will  become  public  secretaries 
of  the  city  or  be  employed  as  inferior  public  officials,  or 
perform  duties  in  an  embassy.  These  will  have,  Hke  the 
previously-mentioned  youths,  a  knowledge  of  languages,  which 
will  serve  all  for  the  reading  of  authors  sufficiently  for  the 
purpose  of  lightening  the  tedium  of  their  old  age;  some,  when- 
ever other  occupations  will  leave  them  at  leisure ;  others,  when 
they  have  been  taught  by  a  richer  experience  of  life,  and  all 
that  was  bitter  in  them  has  been  softened  down. 

These  then   are   philologists,    and  that   subject  to    which 
they  devote  themselves  is  philology.    From  them 

Philologists.  ,        ,  1    ,         ,  ,  \       .      ''•^  , 

should  be  chosen  those  who  instruct  others.  I 
do  not  wish  to  confine  them  within  the  bounds  which  I  have 
mentioned,  but  they  may  investigate  and  thoroughly  study  every- 
thing which  refers  to  philology,  so  long  as  they  refrain  from  the 
The  erudition  anxious  and  vain  pedantry  of  the  Greek  Scholars, 
of  masters.  which  is  exhibited  in  every  work  they  have  written 
on  language,  whether  they  were  dealing  with  separate  poems  or 
with  the  whole  body  of  poetry,  or  in  connexion  with  oratory  or 
with  figures  of  speech.  Let  the  philologist  follow  the  dictum  of 
M.  Fabius  Quintilian\  a  very  great  teacher,  that  7iot  to  know 
some  things  is  to  be  esteemed  a  virtue  in  a  grammarian. 
^  Bk  I,  chap.  13. 


CHAP,  viiij  Classical  Philology  153 

The  philologist  must  read  those  authors  whom  I  have 
Grammar—  recommendcd  to  other  students  as  counsellors,  for 
authorities.  special  Studies  must  of  course  be  pursued  by  the 

philologist,  so  that  he  as  a  single  scholar  must  undertake,  as 
a  consequence  of  his  line  of  study,  the  labour  usually  divided 
amongst  many  men.  Thus  there  remain  for  him  in  grammar, 
Priscian,  Diomedes,  Asper,  Phocas,  Caper  and  Capella.  These 
writers,  it  is  true,  are  not  well  suited  to  give  instruction,  but 
they  warn  us  of  many  points  which  the  master  can  turn  to  his 
own  and  to  his  pupil's  use.  Likewise  the  book  of  Terentianus 
on  prosody  and  poetry.  Among  those  nearer  to  our  own 
time,  we  have  Perottus,  Sulpitius  Verulanus,  Curius  Lancilotus, 
Aldus,  John  Despauterius,  who  are  much  more  satisfactory  than 
those  just  named.  For  Greek  there  is  Herodian  and  Tryphonius, 
and  the  two  who  brought  Greek  literature  into  Italy  within  the 
memory  of  our  fathers,  Chrysoloras  and  John  Lascaris. 

If  Latin  or  Greek  authors  contain  discussions  on  obscure 
questions  of  the  higher  learning,  such  as   "  first 

Authors  ...  1       )i  1       •  r  1 

whom  gram-  phuosophy,  or  the  mvestigation  of  natural  causes, 
manans  need       medicine,  civil  law,  or  theology,  they  should  be 

not  read.  .  '  o/ '  ./ 

left  entirely  for  the  experts  in  those  subjects. 
If  they  discuss  easier  subjects,  such  as  astronomy,  cosmography, 
moral  philosophy,  practical  wisdom,  description  of  nature,  or 
subjects  formerly  named,  so  long  as  they  treat  of  them  simply 
and  clearly,  I  see  no  reason  why  these  matters  should  not 
concern  a  philologist.  If  anyone  comes  to  a  passage  of  higher 
study  let  him  be  content  to  take  in  as  much  as  he  is  able, 
and  pass  on  to  other  matters,  discreetly  leaving  its  explanation 
to  those  who  have  a  specialised  knowledge  of  that  kind  of 
subject.  In  this  way  each  profession  may  retain  its  honour 
and  its  dignity,  nor  are  the  bounds  of  each  subject  confused, 
and  each  subject  does  not  boldly  invade  the  rights  and 
province  of  the  others.  In  this  spirit  the  philologist  must  study 
Seneca,  from  whom  much  help  can  be  gained, 
for  the  use  of  various  words,  their  copiousness 


154  Language   Teaching  [book  hi 

and  variety,  their  proper  use  and  meanings.  He  shows  how 
it  is  possible  to  repeat  the  same  thing  often  without  monotony 
and  to  express  it  in  various  ways,  and  he  is  also  in  respect 
to  the  other  Latin  writers  the  most  dexterous  in  his  use  of 
metaphors. 

It  is  superfluous  to  say  how  much  Marcus  TuUius  Cicero 

can    help,    since    Caius    Caesar    calls   him   the 

father  of  the  copiousness  of  the  Latin  language. 

Laurentius  Valla  adds  Quintilian  to  Cicero,  as  a  companion 

or    more    truly    an    ally,  who    without   injustice 

Quintilian.  ... 

may   be  compared   to  hmi,  m  the   correctness 

of  his  expressions,  his  figures  of  speech,  and  in  the  acuteness 

of  his  whole  phrasing.    Ouintus  Curtius  is  clear, 

curtius.         ,  .  y       ^  ,  r^    ^ ,  . 

but  some  critics  accuse  him  of  being  monotonous. 
Justinus  is  not  so  brilhant. 

After  these  writers  everything  is  more  or  less  dangerous  to 
^^  .    .  recommend.     Gellius  strives  after  elegance,  but 

Christian  .  .  .        . 

authors  in  the  shows  a  great  hardness  in  doing  so.  Apuleius  is 
ongue.  altogether  unpleasant  in  his  Ass.  In  his  other 
writings  he  appears  human,  except  in  the  Florida,  which  is 
stupid,  though  the  title  at  all  events  makes  some  amends- 
Macrobius  is  better  than  these  writers,  and  clearer.  He  possesses 
matter  which  is  not  so  useful  for  general  conversation  as  for 
offering  explanations  of  philosophy.  TertuUian  speaks  very 
confusedly,  as  an  African  would.  Cyprian  and  Arnobius,  of 
the  same  race,  are  clearer,  but  they  too  are  sometimes  very 
African.  Augustine  has  much  that  is  African,  but  rather  in  the 
style  of  his  writings  than  in  his  words ;  this  is  especially  so  in 
the  books  of  the  de  Civitate  Dei,  which,  alone  of  all  his  works, 
I  consider  ought  to  be  read  by  the  philologist ;  for  the  greater 
part  of  it  is  concerned  with  philology,  as  I  remarked  above- 
St  Ambrose'  is  not  so  much  a  Latin  stylist  as  a  pleasant  writer. 
St   Jerome  writes   better    Latin,    except    when   he  sometimes 

^  Jerome    says    on    the    Conwientarics   on    Luke,    by    Ambrosius,  that 
they  had  gone  to  sleep  in  words,  plays,  and  opinions. 


CHAP,  viii]         Classical  Philology  155 

remembers  that  he  is  a  sacred  writer.  He  is  then  more 
solicitous  about  his  subject  than  about  his  language.  Lactantius 
is  the  most  eloquent  of  all  the  Christian  writers.  He  has 
almost  a  Ciceronian  sound,  and  is  worthy  of  imitation  except 
in  a  i^vf  passages.  Lastly,  there  is  Boethius,  who  may  be 
compared  to  any  of  the  above-named.  As  regards  Symmachus, 
Sidonius  Apollinaris,  and  PauHnus,  I  will  spare  the  philologist 
and  let  him  off  the  labour  of  reading  them. 


CHAPTER    IX 

VIVES'   CONTEMPORARIES 

The  writers  who  flourished  not  long  before  the  time  of  Vives. 

From  the  times  treated  above  we  have  to  pass  over  a 
long  period  to  reach  those  writers  who  Hved  in  the  age  which 
immediately  preceded  us. 

Francis  Petrarch,  little  more  than  two  hundred  years  ago, 
first  opened  up  the  closed  libraries  and  shook  the  dust  and 
dirt  from  off  the  works  of  the  greatest  writers.  In  this  respect 
Latin  owes  him  a  very  great  debt  of  gratitude.  He  is  not 
altogether  impure,  but  he  could  not  rise  above  the  filth  of  his 
time.  John  Boccaccio,  his  pupil,  is  not  to  be  compared  to  his 
master  in  any  detail. 

Again  there  is  a  long  silence  until  we  reach  the  time  of 
our  grandfathers.  In  that  age,  Leonard  Bruni  of  Arezzo 
wrote.  He  is  fairly  correct,  simple,  natural,  and  sometimes  in 
writing  history  he  seems  to  me  to  have  caught  a  certain  touch 
of  Livy's  style.  Laurentius  Valla  displays  conspicuous  talent. 
His  use  of  language  is  correct  and  characteristic.  What  he 
wrote  before  the  Elega?itiae — for  instance  de  Voluptate — is  not 
so  good  as  what  he  wrote  after  it,  and  so  the  works  which  he 
translated  from  Greek  as  an  old  man  are  of  a  better  order, 
e.g.  his  translations  of  Thucydides  and  Herodotus.  There  is 
almost  nothing  left  to  wish  for  in  the  power  of  expression  of 
Franciscus  Philelphus,  but  still  he  is  sometimes  tiresome  to 
read  because  he  lacks  motion  and  vivacity,  and  this  is  probably 


CHAP,  ix]  Vives    Contemporaries  157 

the  kind  of  power  which  Martial  looks  for  of  every  book 
that  is  to  be  permanent.  Theodore  Gaza  may  enrich  our 
language  very  much  by  his  translations  from  the  Greek. 
George  of  Trebizond  is  less  successful,  for  though  more 
verbose,  his  choice  of  words  is  smaller.  Jovianus  Pontanus 
has  taken  his  language  entirely  from  Cicero.  Pomponius 
Laetus  is  a  man  of  slight  learning ;  all  his  fame  rests  on 
his  painstaking  collection  of  words  and  some  histories,  and  he 
applied  his  industry  also  to  ancient  inscriptions  and  ruined 
monuments.  Campanus  is  merry  and  easy,  but  contains  little 
matter.  Hermolaus  is  hard,  he  affects  a  pecuhar  style  com- 
posed of  very  ancient  and  very  newly  coined  words ;  for 
example,  he  seems  to  mix  Ennius  and  Plautus  with  Apuleius 
and  Capella.  Politian  is  very  careful  in  working  out  his  books, 
his  words  are  good  and  suited  for  common  use,  especially  for 
the  use  of  inferior  scholars.  He  has  less  weight  than  I 
could  wish,  and  while  he  only  produces  a  few  well-sounding 
expressions,  as  if  he  desired  to  show  off  his  jewels,  he  leads 
the  reader  on  by  a  circuitous  route  and  uses  too  many 
words  and  sentences,  and  overburdens  his  work  more  than 
is    necessary.      John   Pico  has   more  authority, 

Mirandola.  ,.„,.,  .        ,  ,  , 

and  IS  sufficiently  restramed,  except  where  he 
is  disputing  with  the  theologians.  Antonius  Sabellicus  flows 
on  full,  but  sometimes  in  a  muddy  way ;  like  the  writer  from 
whom  he  gets  his  facts  he  seems  to  take  his  colour  from  what- 
ever soil  his  river  is  running  through,  which  often  happens  to 
those  who  are  more  concerned  with  their  subject  than  with 
their  style.  In  our  own  time  we  have  Erasmus,  Budaeus, 
Melanchthon,  Sadolet,  Bembo,  Franciscus  Picus,  Andreas 
Alciatus,  and  many  others  who  are  already  great  or  will  soon 
be  considered  so.  I  will  say  nothing  about  them,  as  they  are 
still  living ;  let  their  descendants  speak,  since  they  will  be  less 
prejudiced. 

Of  the  Greek  writers,  the  philologist  should  read  almost 
all  the  works  of  Plato,  who,  as  the  Greeks  say,  speaks  the 


158  Language  Teaching  [book  hi 

language  of  Jove ;  the  Ethica  and  Politica  of  Aristotle,  in 
which  there  is  an  admirable  originality  of  style;  the  Morals 
and  the  Lives  of  famous  Men  of  Plutarch;  some  works  of 
Galen,  for  example  that  on  the  preservation  of  health  {de 
tue7ida  Valciudine),  together  with  Linacre's  translation.  Galen 
is  diffuse  and  rich  in  words,  of  course,  since  he  was  an  Asiatic, 
but  his  language  is  good  and  elegant.  Philostratus  has 
a  flowery  and  picturesque  style,  Libanius  is  clearer  and 
simpler. 

Among    Christian    writers,    Synesius    is   laboured    in    his 

style,  but  full  of  borrowings  of  passages  more  than   a  little 

obscure.    Basil  and  Gregory  are  cultured  writers. 

Chrysostom.  ^,  .         ,  ,    , 

Chrysostom  is  clearer  and  has  a  greater  com- 
mand of  words.  He  is  like  Isocrates  in  his  prefaces,  and  Uke 
Lucian  and  Galen  in  his  text. 

These  are  the  prose  writers  and,  if  PHny  the  Younger  be 

added  to  the  list,  it  is  as  if  not  one  writer  merely 

had   been   added,   but   a  whole   and  distinctly 

sufificient  library,  so  great  in  him  is  the  wealth  of  facts  and 

vocabulary.     Who  then  could  pass  him  by,  and  at  the  same 

time  dare  to  call  himself  a  philologist? 

The  poets  still  are  left,  along  with  whom  one  should  read 
as  a  kind  of  antidote,  Plutarch's  work  on  the 

Greek  poets.  /   7      n  »-        •        \  i 

readmg  of  the  poets  \ae  Foetarum  Lectione)  and 
also  the  work  of  the  great  Basil'  on  the  reading  of  the  heathen 
writers  {de  Legcndis  Ethtiicis) ;  it  is  true  the  latter  is  somewhat 
short  but  it  abounds  in  piety.  The  Ars  Poeiica  of  Aristotle 
contains  little  good  fruit.  It  is  occupied  entirely  with  the  con- 
sideration of  old  poems  and  with  those  niceties  in  which  the 
Greeks  are  so  tiresome,  but  which  one  may,  with  their  kind 
permission,  call  inept.  Palaephatus,  an  ancient  writer,  has  tried 
to  harmonise  the  tales  of  the  poets  with  history,  and  truly  he 
has  done  it,  not  altogether  badly,  though  in  some  places  his 
conjectures  are  unconvincing,  and  in  others  they  are  mistaken. 
^  In  Hcniilia  ad  Nepotes. 


CHAP,  ix]  Vives    CotUernporaries  159 

Horace  is  musical,  lively  and,  as  Quintilian^  says,  bold  in  his 
metaphors.  Ovid  says  of  him  that  he  sang  on  the  Roman  lyre 
polished  poems.  In  heroic  verse  he  is  as  it  were,  a  pantomime- 
dancer.  He  could  not  rise  to  its  fulness  and  dignity.  Catullus 
is,  as  Pliny-  says,  somewhat  hard  and  requires  to  be  well 
weeded ;  not  less  charming  are  Tibullus  and  Propertius,  and 
Ovid,  who  possesses  wonderful  ease,  and  of  whom  Seneca 
expresses  the  regret  that  he  did  not  provide  his  Age  with  good 
precepts  instead  of  the  Art  of  Love  {Ars  Amafidi).  Manilius' 
Astronomicon  is  heavy  but  learned,  though  without  "movement," 
as  Quintilian-'  says  of  Aratus,  although  it  sometimes  breathes 
forth  with  a  warmer  life.  Silius  Italicus  is  careful,  but  he  has 
to  thank  art  more  than  nature,  in  the  opinion  of  Pliny*.  I  do 
not  see  what  is  gained  by  reading  Valerius  Flaccus  and 
Apollonius  of  Rhodes,  as  though  there  were  not  authors  over 
whom  the  time  could  be  better  spent.  I  do  not  censure 
so  much  the  poetic  form  or  diction  of  their  works  as  the 
frivolousness  of  their  subject-matter.  Juvenal  is  rough  and 
hard  in  many  places,  as  his  material  requires.  Statius  is  soft 
and  sweet.  From  Martial  we  must  remove  the  immodest 
passages,  for  the  rest  I  would  trust  the  judgment  on  him  of 
Pliny  Caelius. 

Long  after  these  writers  we  come  to  Ausonius  of  Gaul, 
keen  and  exciting  everywhere,  a  writer  who  does  not  allow  the 
reader  to  fall  asleep'.  Claudianus  is  better,  and  is  clearly 
poetical  in  mind  and  soul.  Juvencus,  Sedulius,  Prosper,  and 
Paulinus  are  to  be  compared  to  muddy  and  disturbed  rivers, 
whose  waters  are  nevertheless  health-giving,  as  they  say  of 
certain  streams.  ApoUinaris  is  less  disagreeable  in  his  style 
when  he  writes  in  verse  than  in  his  prose,  for  the  rhythm  either 
hides  or  checks  his  hardness.  John  Hautuillensis,  who  was 
nicknamed   "Architrenius "  on  account  of  a  work  he  wrote, 

^  Bk  X,  chap.  i. 

-  See  Pliny,  Epistolae,  bk  ix,  or  Epist.  229.  ^  gj^  x,  chap.  i. 

*  See  Pliny,  Epist.  3  at  end  and  57.  °  See  Epist.  61. 


i6o  Language   Teaching  [book  hi 

is  not  altogether  bad,  and  is  decidedly  better  than  his  time. 
After  a  long  interval  there  follows  Francis  Petrarch.  If  he 
had  not  combined  great  genius  with  as  great  study,  the  age 
in  which  he  lived  would  have  been  sufficient  to  corrupt  his 
style.  Franciscus  Philelphus  composed  too  many  poems,  so 
that  they  are  frequently  felt  to  be  immature. 

Jovianus  Pontanus  is  more  finished  and  more  worthy  to  be 
read.  The  muse  of  Politian  has  much  sweetness,  much  wit, 
liveliness  and  elegance,  but  the  shameful  epigrams  must  be 
expunged,  for  they  are  unworthy  of  a  heathen,  let  alone  a 
Christian.  MaruUus  is  less  known,  and  not  equal  to  him  in 
the  pleasure  which  he  gives.  The  two  Strozzi,  father  and  son, 
are  fairly  polished.  Jerome  Vida  and  Actius  Sannazarius  are 
committed  as  though  by  a  sacred  oath  to  the  imitation  of 
Virgil.  Thomas  More  is  full  of  keen  wit.  Erasmus  is  like 
Horace,  as  he  would  wish  to  be. 

There  are  other  Greek  poets,  besides  those  whom  I  have 
mentioned :  e.g.  Quintus  Calaber,  who  added  Paralipomena 
to  the  Homeric  epos  just  as  Mapheus  Vegius  wrote  a  thirteenth 
book  to  the  Aeneid.  Hesiod's  Genealogy  of  the  gods  {Genealogia 
Deorum)  is  very  useful  for  a  comprehension  of  the  poets ; 
beyond  that  it  is  very  useless.  Sophocles  wrote  tragedies,  the 
worth  of  which  was  never  lightly  esteemed,  although  Euripides 
is  preferred  to  him.  Aratus  wrote  the  Fhaenomena,  which 
Cicero  and  the  Emperor  Germanicus  translated  into  Latin. 
We  possess  Latin  and  Greek  plays  by  John  Lascaris  which 
are  rather  unintelligible  on  account  of  their  short  and  as  it 
were  point-like  subtlety. 

The    principal  expositors  are  Valerius  Probus,   of  whom 
there  still  remains  a  very  little  of  what  he  wrote 
xpositors.  ^^^  ^j^^  Bucolica  and  Georgica  of  Virgil.    There  is 

Aelius  Donatus,  who  is  well-known  because  of  his  explanations 
of  Terence  and  Virgil.  In  Terence  he  imagined  himself  to  be 
the  interpreter  of  Latin  expressions,  although  he  was  often 
unhappy  in  his  explanations,  especially  in  his  account  of  the 


CHAP,  ix]  Vives    Conteinporaries  i6i 

differences  of  words.     In  his  conclusions  he  invented  a  great 
deal  which  never  occurred  to  the  minds  of  the  writers  them- 
selves.    Servius  Honoratus  is,  as  everyone  will 

Servius.  _  _  _  -^ 

easily  believe,  a  painstaking  philologist,  but  he 
asserts  much  that  is  still  open  to  doubt.  Philip 
Beroaldus  has  also  written  some  notes  on  Terence,  but  he  is 
a  man  not  much  more  exact  than  Servius  himself  There  are 
many  things  in  Servius  besides,  which  one  would  rather  say  at 
once  were  false  than  attempt  to  prove  right  by  clear  argument. 
x'\cron  and  Porphyrio,  the  expositors  of  Horace,  are  far 
below  most  modern  writers.  They  often  sleep  and  sometimes 
even  snore  as  well.    Beroaldus  and  Sabelhcus  are 

Sabellicus.  ,  r~.  •  r^    i     n- 

better  commentators  on  Suetonms.  Sabelhcus 
is  short.  Beroaldus  is  more  diffuse,  but  also  more  careless, 
e.g.  in  the  Asinus  of  Apuleius.  Mancinellus  has  furnished 
a  very  good  grammatical  work  on  the  BucoUca  and  Georgica  of 
Virgil.  Landinus  philosophises  too  much  in  his  commentaries 
on  Virgil's  poetry,  in  the  same  way  that  Petrus  Marsus' 
loquacity  on  the  Officia  of  Cicero  becomes  almost  intolerable. 
Parrhasius  has  added  many  good  and  accurate  philological 
notes  to  the  Capture  of  Proserpina  of  Claudianus ;  Nicolaus 
Beroaldus  in  the  Notes  to  the  Countryman  {Rusticus)  of 
Politian  and  Franciscus  Sylvius  in  his  Notes  to  the  GrypJws 
of  Ausonius  present  many  passages  carefully  taken  from  the 
Asconius  subjcct    of  Philology.      If  Asconius  Paedianus 

Paedianus.  -^^^  reached  us  whole  and  untouched   (would 

that  it  were  so  !)  he  would  have  afforded  much  help  in  compre- 
hending Cicero  and  his  language.  For  there  are  in  Cicero  not 
a  few  very  obscure  passages,  and  passages  so  dark  that  no 
light  can  be  thrown  upon  them  now,  because  of  the  want  of 
knowledge  of  the  history  of  the  time.  Hermolaus  Barbarus 
has  given  a  good  deal  of  the  kernel  of  many  matters  in  his 
annotations  on  Pliny  and  Mela ;  Angelus  Politian  in  his 
Notes  on  the  Centuries,  Budaeus,  Alciatus,  Sabellicus,  Beroaldus 
and  Aegnatius  in  the  common  work  which  they  wrote  under 


1 62  Language   Teaching  [book  hi 

the  title  of  "Annotations  on  Authors,"  Ludovicus  Caelius, 
Antonius  Nebrissensis  in  the  Quifiquagem,  John  Pierius 
Valeiianus  has  corrected  the  text  of  Virgil  by  comparing 
different  manuscripts,  a  work  which  is  particularly  useful  to 
readers  of  the  great  poet.  I  have  no  desire  to  speak  of 
Baptista  Pius  and  Cornehus  Vitellius.  Posterity  may  judge 
of  our  contemporaries. 


BOOK    IV 

HIGHER   STUDIES 
CHAPTER    I 

LOGIC.     NATURE-STUDY 

The  Study  of  Language  as  preparative  to  further  studies.     Logic. 
Text-books.     Nature-study.     Use  and  abuse  of  the  study. 

So  far  we  have  dealt  with  the  knowledge  of  languages,  which 
Knowledge  of  ^re  the  gates  of  all  sciences  and  arts,  at  all  events, 
languages.  those  languages  in  which  the  works  of  great  minds 

are  handed  down  to  us.  Thus  ignorance  of  any  language  shuts 
the  gate  to  the  knowledge  which  is  written,  signed  and  sealed 
in  that  language.  But  let  those  who  study  remember,  that  if 
nothing  is  added  to  their  knowledge  by  the  study  of  the  lan- 
guage, they  have  only  arrived  at  the  gates  of  knowledge,  or  are 
still  hovering  in  the  entrance  hall.  Let  them  remember  that  it 
is  of  no  more  use  to  know  Latin  and  Greek,  than  French 
or  Spanish  if  the  value  of  the  knowledge  which  can  be 
obtained  from  the  learned  languages  is  left  out  of  the  account. 
And  that  no  language  is  in  itself  worth  the  trouble  of  learning, 
if  nothing  is  sought  beyond  the  linguistic  aspect.  Rather  let 
students  gain  as  much  of  the  language  as  will  enable  them  to 
penetrate  to  those  facts  and  ideas,  which  are  contained  in 
these  langaages,  Hke  beautiful  and  valuable  things  are  locked 
up  in  treasuries. 


164  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

A  method  of  investigation  comes  next  to  the  study  of  lan- 
suases,  a  means  whereby  we  can  test  the  true 

Dialectic  o       o      '  j 

and  the  false  by  simple  and  well-arranged  rules. 

This  is  called  logic.     A  young  man,  who  has  advanced  thus  far 

in  the  study  of  languages,  will  easily  understand 

CcHsura  veri.  ,  .  ,      ^  ,  .  - .  ,  ,  . 

what  IS  put  before  hnn.  Nor  need  anything 
prevent  him  from  considering  logic  before  he  has  finished  his 
language  studies,  so  that  he  goes  on  to  the  completion  of  the 

one  whilst  making  progress  in   the  other.     In 

Exposition  ,1  •  .  1  ■  1  r        . 

of  terms  this  art,  or  rather  instrument  and  organ  of  art, 

used  in  those  definitions  are  first  explained,  which  are 

logic.  '■ 

peculiar  to  it.  Thence  we  pass  to  simple  and 
compound  judgments,  and  lastly  to  the  rules  for  proof.  This 
is  called  the  critical  dialectic,  that  is,  the  science 
of  logical  proof.  For  this  purpose  there  are 
certain  little  books  by  recent  writers,  which  are  very  helpful, 
such  as  those  by  George  of  Trebizond,  George  Valla,  and  Philip 
Melanchthon ;  these  should  be  first  explained.  Then  there  is  the 
TTcpt  epjj.rjvfLa';  of  Aristotle,  omitting  the  passages  which  discuss 
judgments  of  future  possibilities,  as  they  are  very  complicated 
and  suited  for  more  mature  study  at  a  more  advanced  stage. 
...  .  _  .  The  books  of  Aristotle's  A)ial\tica  Priora  contain 

I^ibrt  Friorutit  ' 

and  an  esti-  iiiuch  that  is  obscure  and,  in  my  opinion,  unneces- 
^'^'  sary.  The  teacher  should  choose  what  is  suited 
to  the  age  of  his  pupils  and  to  the  knowledge  which  he  is 
imparting.  Practice  in  logic  should  not  arouse  a  desire  for 
competition,  for  that  is  the  spirit  of  the  art  itself,  and  if  strife 
is  added  to  strife,  what  else  would  that  be  but  throwing  oil 
on  a  fire,  as  they  say?  It  would  be  wiser  for  the  teacher 
to  conduct  his  pupils'  studies  by  means  of  questions  rather 
than  by  wordy  arguments,  for  at  this  stage  the  pupils  have 
not  usually  sufficient  material  of  knowledge  about  which  to 
argued 

'  See    last  chapters  of  the  Elenclnis  of  Aristotle   and   the   Organoii 
passim. 


CHAP,  i]  The  Study  of  Logic  165 

Next  let  them  prepare  for  discussions  on  other  sciences  by 
means  of  set  theses,  in  order  that  they  may  learn  by  orderly 
observation  to  include  nothing  that  is  inconsistent  and  to  reject 
nothing  that  is  consistent.  Such  exercises  we 
call  "obligationes."  They  are  not  a  branch  of 
knowledge  nor  any  part  of  one,  but  the  pursuance  of  rules 
of  logic  and  their  application  to  a  particular  case\  In  these 
exercises  there  are  only  two  things  to  be  avoided  (which  have 
just  been  mentioned),  namely,  not  to  accept  what  is  incon- 
sistent, and  not  to  reject  what  is  consistent,  with  what  is  laid 
down  as  basis  of  the  discussion.  Socratic  questioning  is  very 
useful  not  only  for  induction  but  also  for  sharpening  the  wits 
and  convincing  an  opponent,  as  if  bringing  out  the  adversary's 
meaning,  and  undermining  its  weakness  through  a  right  use  ot 
divisions  and  definitions. 

The  youth  might  read  quietly  to  himself  Boethius,  Capella, 
Apuleius  and  Augustine,  although  to  some  extent  they 
introduce  Graecisms.  Politian  has  put  together  some  flowers 
of  speech  for  ostentatious  display,  which  is  the  only  thing  he 
strives  after,  but  still  he  is  useful  as  he  supplies  certain  technical 
expressions. 

The  pupil  should  know  thoroughly  the  Dialectic  of  Aris- 
The  books  totlc.    The  books  of  Aristotle  have  been  arranged 

of  Aristotle.  ^j^^j  quoted  by  the  ancient  writers,  TuUius  Cicero, 
Laertius  Diogenes,  Servius  Honoratus  and  others,  in  a  way 
quite  different  from  that  in  which  they  have  been  divided  by 
the  more  recent  writers,  but  we,  to  whom  those  early  writings 
are  unknown,  may  follow  the  later  authorities. 

The  Greek  expositors  of  Aristotle  are  Psellus,  Mangenetus, 
Expositors  ^'^^  Ammonius,  who  overwhelm  the  readers  with 

of  Aristotle.  empty  words,  as  is  almost  the  custom  of  the 
commentators  of  that  race.  James  Faber  wrote  on  Aristotle 
and  then  composed  a  Dialectica  himself,  in  which  he  drew  out 
as  it  were  from  the  mud  many  of  the  opinions  current  in  his  time. 
^  See  Parva  Logicalia. 


1 66  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

Next  should  follow  a  knowledge  of  nature.     The  youth 
will    find    this    much    easier    than    an    abstract 

The  know-  ll-  -li  •  ri-rr 

-ledge  of  the         subjcct  dealing  With  the  experiences  of  life,  for 
things  of  jj   ^^^    j^g   acquired    by    the   sharpness    of  the 

natural  senses,  whereas  an  abstract  intellectual 
study  requires  knowledge  in  many  subjects  of  life,  experience, 
and  a  good  memory.  What  we  know  of  nature'  has  been 
gained  partly  through  the  senses,  partly  through  the  imagina- 
tion, though  reason  has  been  at  hand  as  a  guide  to  the  senses ; 
on  this  account  we  have  gained  knowledge  in  few  subjects  and 
in  those  sparingly,  because  of  those  shadows  which  envelope 
and  oppress  the  human  mind.  For  the  same  reason  what 
knowledge  we  have  gained  can  only  be  reckoned  as  probable 
and  not  assumed  as  absolutely  true.  There  are  some  men  so 
hard  and  difficult  that  they  demand  a  reason  for  everything, 
either  one  which  can  be  given  through  the  senses,  or  which  is 
indisputable  to  the  mind.  Such  men  were  Aristotle  and  Pliny. 
They  become  incredible  of  the  discoveries  of  others,  and  un- 
believing in  matters  of  religion,  and  although  they  are  so 
inexorable  to  others,  they  nevertheless  often  accept  on  very 
slight  and  unsubstantial  grounds  what  they  have  themselves 
approved,  or  adopt  the  opinions  of  the  one  man  to  whose 
authority  they  have  once  submitted  themselves. 

Therefore,  those  who  are  suspicious,  or  who  twist  everything 
into  the  worst  shape,  should  be  kept  back  from  this  study. 
Nor  should  those  who  are  weak  in  religious  convictions  be 
introduced  to  this  subject,  unless  the  indisputable  axioms  of 
the  first  philosophy,  which  extend  to  a  knowledge  of  the  divine, 
are  added  to  their  studies  at  the  same  time. 

The  first  precept  in  the  contemplation  and  discussion  of 
nature,  is  that  since  we  cannot  gain  any  certain  knowledge 
from  it,  we  must  not  indulge  ourselves  too  much  in  examining 
and  inquiring  into  those  things  which  we  can  never  attain,  but 
that  all  our  studies  should  be  applied  to  the  necessities  of  life, 
'  "  We  are  as  birds,"  as  the  author  says  elsewhere. 


CHAP,  i]  Nature-Stitdy  167 

to  some  bodily  or  mental  gain,  to  the  cultivation  and  increase 
of  reverence.  Indeed,  with  all  our  care  and  pains  we  gain 
nothing  but  affliction,  as  King  Solomon  wisely  said.  Nor 
does  such  excessive  appHcation  leave  time  for  any  thought 
of  God,  and  even  if  a  man  attempts  it,  his  own  investigation, 
in  which  he  is  totally  wrapped  up,  presents  itself  instead  before 
„--■"-   ,    .        his  eves.     Thus  the  contemplation  of  nature  is 

Contemplation  •'  ' 

of  Nature  unnecessary  and  even  harmful  unless  it  serves 

directed  ^^^  useful  arts  of  life,  or  raises  us  from  a  knovv- 

towards  the         ledsie  of  His  works  to  a  knowledge,  admiration 

Creator. 

and  love  of  the  Author  of  these  works  ^  Hence 
everything,  which  merely  serves  to  stir  curiosity,  must  be  cast 
well  on  one  side,  lest  the  mind,  distracted  by  curiosity,  should 
omit  to  inquire  into  the  understanding  of  better  things,  the 
knowledge  of  which  is  of  true  and  real  value  to  a  philosopher. 
Furthermore,  whatever  is  meant  for  empty  show,  and  contains 
nothing  solid  in  itself  or  which  will  be  useful  in  the  future,  is 
to  be  despised.  The  Suicetica'  are  of  this  kind,  since  they 
prevent  one  from  paying  attention  to  better  things,  and  what 
is  still  more  serious,  they  render  one  unfit  to  do  so.  He  is  not 
a  philosopher,  who  talks  subtly  about  that  which  is  impending 
{de  instantibus),  and  about  regular  and  irregular  motion  {de 
motu  enormi  aut  confonni),  but  he  is  one,  who  knows  the  origin 
and  nature  of  plants  and  animals,  and  the  reasons  why,  as  well 
as  the  way  in  which,  natural  events  happen.     The  unlearned, 

silly  and  godless  talk  of  the  Arabian  should  not 

Arabic  lore.  ,.,,.,_. 

be  seriously  studied.  It  is  not  necessary  to  read 
closely  all  the  opinions  and  maxims  of  the  ancient  Greeks  and 
Romans,  although  those  of  really  learned  men  should  be 
studied.  For  of  what  use  is  it  to  know  that  there  were  men 
who  argued  that  snow  is  black  and  that  fire  can  be  cold? 
Perhaps  it  is  not  disadvantageous  sometimes  to  know  that  such 

1  [For  Plato  rightly  says  that  Nature  is  what  God  wills  it  to  be.] 
-  Rugerus   Suicetus   was   an    English    Scholastic   philosopher,    whose 
speculations  became  a  by-word  for  inanity  and  fruitlessness. 


1 68  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

things  have  been  argued,  but  it  is  in  truth  too  great  a  waste  of 
time  to  devote  oneself  to  opposing  or  defending  propositions 
Hke  those.  For  this  reason  I  consider  that  in  Aristotle  those 
tiresome  disputes,  or  rather  invectives,  against  the  ancient 
philosophers  should  be  omitted.  Besides,  Aristotle  does  not 
always  quote  correctly,  for  he  twists  the  sense  or  the  words, 
and  does  not  give  all  the  counter  arguments.  He  does  not 
oflfer  valid  confutations  and  he  replies  to  them  by  answering 
ideas  which  are  invented  by  himself;  so  that  it  is  not  worth 
much  to  have  read  those  passages.  In  all  natural  philosophy, 
the  scholar  should  be  told  that  what  he  hears  is  only  thought 
to  be  true  i.e.  so  far  as  the  intellect,  judgment,  experience,  and 
careful  study  of  those  who  have  investigated  the  matter  can 
ascertain,  for  it  is  very  seldom  that  we  can  affirm  anything  as 
absolutely  true. 

First  we  must  consider  the  easiest  kinds  of  knowledge, 
Description  viz.,  thosc  things  that  are  evident  to  the  senses, 
of  Nature.  ^Qx  the  scnscs  opcn  up  the  way  to  all  knowledge. 

There  should  be,  in  the  first  place,  a  general  explanation, 
an  exposition  or,  as  it  were,  a  picture  of  the  whole  of  nature, 
of  the  heavens,  the  elements,  and  those  things  that  are  in 
the  heavens,  and  in  the  elements,  in  fire,  air,  water  and  earth ; 
so  that  a  full  representation  and  description  of  the  whole 
earth  is  included  as  in  a  picture.  With  this  object,  a  short 
book  on  the  world,  as  a  whole \  was  written  by  Aristotle,  as 
it  is  said,  though  it  is  not  known  if  he  was  the  real  author, 
or  not.  The  style  is  more  pleasant  than  one  would  expect 
from  Aristotle,  and  it  is  much  clearer  than  Aristotle  usually 
writes  on  Nature-subjects,  but  Justin  Martyr  and  John  Picus 
ascribe  this  little  work  to  him  and,  certainly,  it  sprang  from 
the  Peripatetic  school.  Apuleius  translated  it  as  Aristotle's, 
and  called  it  Cosnwgraphia.  Some  topics,  however,  must 
be  explained  more  fully  and  more  carefully,  for  example,  by 
the  Celestial  Sphere  of  John  Sacroboscus,  then  George  Purbach's 

^  Aristotle's  book  :  de  Muiido. 


CHAP,  i]  Nature-Study  169 

Theory  of  the  Planets  and  also  the  second  book  of  Pliny. 
The  authors  Pomponius  Mela  wrote  on  geography  and  hydro- 
to  be  read  in  graphy,  and  Pliny  should  be  further  read  from 
e  scie  ces.  j^j^  fourth  to  his  Seventh  book.  In  these  studies 
there  is  no  disputation  necessary;  there  is  nothing  needed  but 
the  silent  contemplation  of  Nature.  The  scholars  sometimes 
will  rather  ask  questions  than  contend  or  dispute.  There  are 
some  students  little  suited  for  the  higher  investigation  of  causes, 
viz.,  those  who  are  of  sluggish  wits,  who,  so  to  say,  let  their 
heads  drop  down,  because  they  cannot  rise  to  such  topics,  or 
cannot  bear  the  bright  light,  e.g.  the  blear-eyed.  There  are 
also  those  students  who  will  not,  or  through  their  condition  of 
life,  cannot,  gain  this  deeper  knowledge.  Such  students  must 
stop  at  this  point. 

Outside  the  school,  let  the  pupil  read  privately  the  Phaeno- 
mena  of  Aratus  and  the  Coelestis  Historia  of  Julius  Hyginus. 
In  the  Astronomicon  of  Manilius  there  is  interspersed  much 
Chaldaic  superstition  and  vanity.  This  book  should  neither 
be  read  without  a  guide  (who  will  give  hints  as  to  the  parts 
to  be  avoided)  nor  without  much  discretion. 

The  pupil  should  read  Strabo,  who  wrote  a  description  of 
the  world  and  gave  its  history  at  the  same  time.  Let  him  also 
consider  the  maps  of  Ptolemy,  if  he  can  get  a  corrected  edition. 
Let  him  add  the  discoveries  of  our  (i.e.  Spanish)  countrymen 
on  the  borders  of  the  East  and  the  West.  Let  him  also  read 
Aristotle  on  Animals,  and  his  pupil  Theophrastus  on  Plants, 
and  Dioscorides  on  Herbs,  together  with  the  commentaries 
of  Marcellus  Vergilius,  who  translated  it,  and  the  Corollaries 
of  Hermolaus  Barbarus.  Then  on  agriculture  let  him  read 
Marcus  Cato,  Varro  (de  Re  Rustica),  Columella  and  Palladius, 
having  respect  to  the  subject-matter  to  be  discovered  in  them, 
not  as  before  for  the  vocabulary.  Peter  Criscentianus,  who  is 
little  polished  in  style  and  expression,  knows  well  how 
fields  and  farms  should  be  worked  and  managed.  Oppianus, 
a  countryman   of   Dioscorides,  writes  on  the  fishes  of  every 


lyo  Hioker  Studies  [book  iv 

country.  In  this  part  of  nature-study,  we  are  extremely  ignorant, 
for  Nature  has  been  ahnost  incredibly  prodigal 
in  the  supply  of  fishes,  and  in  the  naming 
of  them  there  is  similar  prodigality.  In  every  region  of  the 
sea,  on  every  coast,  are  found  varieties  differing  in  shape  and 
form  from  one  another.  Not  only  do  national  languages  vary 
in  naming  them,  but  also  there  is  a  difference  in  the  local 
names  given  to  fishes  by  the  various  towns  and  cities  which 
are  quite  near  each  other,  and  whose  inhabitants  speak  the 
same  language. 

Concerning  gems,  metals,  pigments,  Pliny  has  written  in 
his  Natural  History.  He  has  indeed  embraced  all  the  subject- 
matter,  which  I  have  just  described.  Julius 
o  inus.  gQjjj-jyg  |-,^g  ^Q^iQ  thc  same.  Solinus  is  the  little 
ape,  or  rather  the  plunderer  of  Pliny.  Of  not  less  helpfulness 
in  this  study  is  Raphael  of  Volterra  in  the  third  part  of  his 
Commentaries  which  he  called  Philologia.  This  author  de- 
serves high  praise  for  his  industry. 

These  books  must  be  read  by  the  student  who  wishes  to 
get  a  real  hold  on  this  part  of  studies,  and  they  must  be 
thoroughly  and  industriously  studied.  He  who  would  advance 
still  further  must  study  outward  nature  by  close  observation. 
Contemplation  ^nd  this  will  be  as  it  were  a  pleasant  recreation, 
of  Nature.  We  look  for  him  to  be  keen  in  his  observation 

as  well  as  sedulous  and  diligent,  but  he  must  not  be  obstinate, 
arrogant,  contentious.  There  is  no  need  of  altercations  and 
quarrels.  All  that  is  wanted  is  a  certain  power  of  observation. 
So  will  he  observe  the  nature  of  things  in  the  heavens,  in  cloudy 
and  in  clear  weather,  in  tlie  plains,  on  the  mountains,  in  the 
woods.  Hence  he  will  seek  out,  and  get  to  know,  many  things 
from  those  who  inhabit  those  spots.  Let  him  have  recourse, 
for  instance,  to  gardeners,  husbandmen,  shepherds  and  hunters, 
for  this  is  what  Pliny  and  other  great  authors  undoubtedly  did. 
For  no  one  man  can  possibly  make  all  observations  without 
help  in  such  a  multitude  and  variety  of  directions.    But  whether 


CHAP,  i]  Nature-Study  171 

he  observes  anything  himself,  or  hears  anyone  relating  his 
experience,  not  only  let  him  keep  eyes  and  ears  intent,  but 
his  whole  mind  also,  for  great  and  exact  concentration  is 
necessary  in  observing  every  part  of  nature,  in  its  seasons, 
and  in  the  essence  and  strength  of  each  object  of  Nature. 
Such  students  bring  great  advantage  to  husbandry,  for  the 
culture  of  palatable  fruits,  for  foods  and  for  drinks,  and  in 
remedies  and  medicines  for  the  recovery  of  health.  For  the 
well-to-do  old  man,  the  pursuit  of  Nature-study  will  be  a  great 
delectation,  and  it  will  be  a  refreshment  of  the  mind  to  those 
who  have  business  affairs  of  their  own,  or  who  conduct  affairs 
of  state.  For  not  easily  will  any  other  pleasure  of  the  senses 
be  found  which  can  compare  with  this  in  magnitude  or  in 
Every  blade  permanence,  since  it  stimulates  the  desire  of 
of  grass  knowledge,  which  for  every  human  mind  is  the 

announces  r        n         i 

the  living  keenest    of    all    pleasures.       Therefore    whilst 

*^°'^'  attention  is  given  to  observation  of  nature,  no 

other  recreation  need  be  sought.  It  is  a  sauce  to  appetite. 
It  is  in  itself  a  walking-exercise  (deambulatio  ipsa)  and  a  study 
at  one's  ease.  It  is  at  once  school  and  schoolmaster,  for 
it  instantly  presents  objects  which  one  can  look  at  with 
admiration,  and  at  the  same  time  a  man's  culture  is  advanced 
by  the  observation. 

Let  us  return  to  the  school  and  teacher. 


F.  w. 


CHAPTER    II 

DISPUTATIONS   AND   THE   "FIRST   PHILOSOPHY" 

The  "First  Philosophy."     The  Teachers  and  Scholars  suited  for  the  study 
of  this  subject.     Text-books  for  class  and  for  private  reading. 

After  this  short  and  simple  description  of  facts  the  hidden 
The  "first"  workings  of  nattire  should  be  set  before  those 
philosophy  is       yvho  wish  to  learn  further.     This  is  the    "  first 

that  which  i  -i  i       «  •         •  <-     i 

leads  us  to  philosophy,    an  examination  of  the  connexions 

^°'^-  of  things,  and  of  all  the  functions  which  arise 

naturally  from  the  very  essence  of  any  thing.  Thence  we  pass 
to  external  causes,  as  though  to  the  workings  of  the  most 
secret  powers,  and  from  the  external  causes  we  rise,  provided 
of  course  that  we  keep  the  right  path,  to  God,  the  Father  and 
Author  of  the  whole  world.  For  the  invisible  things  of  God 
offer  themselves  to  the  eyes  of  the  mind  through  the  things 
that  are  made,  even  His  eternal  power  and  Godhead ^  If  we 
once  step  aside  from  the  right  way  we  shall  continue  to  err 
more  and  more.  Accordingly  this  philosophy  is  not  to  be 
treated  rashly  or  in  any  way  you  like,  since  there  is  such  great 
danger  of  making  mistakes.  We  must  not  examine  nature  by 
the  poor  and  bad  light  of  heathen  knowledge  but  by  the 
brilliant  torch,  which  Christ  brought  into  the  darkness  of  the 
world.  With  this  end  in  view  I  have  striven  to  write  a  work 
so  that  we  may  not  have  to  follow  the  heathen,  to  so  great  an 

^  Romans  i.  20. 


CHAP,  ii]  Disputations  173 

injury  of  our  religion,  or  certainly  at  the  risk  of  inflicting  an 
injury  on  it.  Besides,  I  thus  treat  everything  more  plainly, 
even  if  not  more  accurately. 

At  this  point  the  Aristotelian  Meiaphysica  and  the  eight 
books  de  Aiiditu  Physico,  which  belong  to  the 

A.ristotle*s 

books:  same  subject,  ought  to  be  studied.     They  con- 

'•  ^i'^^'f-  .        tain  much  learning  and  ability  as  all  his  works 

2.     Metaphysica.  °  •' 

do,  but  also  much  that  is  obscure.  His  subtle- 
ties which  are  often  drawn  out  to  fine  distinctions,  render 
blunt  and  dull  the  keenest  intellect.  He  has  shown  an  incli- 
nation in  some  matters  to  ask  questions  where  there  was  never 
any  occasion  to  do  so,  and  through  his  excessive  care  and 
attention  he  has  believed  himself  to  have  discovered  something, 
and  has  fancied  he  has  seen  something  which  he  never  saw, 
and  which  never  even  existed,  just  like  a  man  who  looks  for 
stars  on  a  bright  clear  day  and  is  then  deluded  into  thinking 

that  he  has  seen   some.     The  eight  books  on 

Aristotle  s  _  _  ° 

Libri  Physics  should  be  read  with  the  pupil  very  care- 

ysicorum.  fully,  whether  one  thinks  that  they  were  written  by 

Aristotle  himself  or  whether,  as  some  think,  they  were  collected 
and  published  at  his  suggestion  by  his  son  Nicomachus  after 
he  had  heard  Theophrastus,  on  which  account  they  are  called 
His  (fiV(rLKy]<;   aKpoacrews.      No    less    carefully    should 

Me/aMysiar.  jj^g    j^^g^    gj^    I^^^J^g  ^f   j|^g   .<  f^^^^    PhiloSOphy  "  be 

treated  ;  for  the  pupil  may  read  to  himself  the  other  twelve 
(or  as  some  people  think  fourteen)  books,  and  select  sentences 
and  precepts  which  he  thinks  worthy  of  remembrance.  The 
rest  are  very  difficult  and  long,  but  also  very  unfruitful,  and 
should  only  be  read  carefully  and  thoroughly  by  the  teacher  in 
order  to  pick  out  for  himself  and  his  pupil  whatever  is  at  all 
useful.  In  the  fifth  book  the  categories  are  explained.  Here 
Porphyrins'  work  on  the  five  categories  which  sprang  from 
Aristotle  should  be  added,  then  Boethius'  Method  of  Defi}iition 
and  Division,  which  contains  an  explanation  of  essences. 
Speusippus'  little   book    on   the  Defifiitions  of  Plato  is  well 


J  74  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

known.  From  it  you  can  seek  examples  for  every  possible 
kind  of  definition. 

For  all  this  important   investigation  we  require  a  careful, 
temperate  teacher,  one  who  is  not  too  presump- 

The  kind  of  1  ,  .    '       .  XT  V-       1  1 

teacher  tuous  or  hasty  in  his  statements.     Nor  should 

needed.  y^^  advance  otherwise  than  cautiously,  knowing 

that  he  is  walking  in  darkness  and  over  slippery  ground.     This 
kind  of  mental  discipline  calls  for  the  pupil  to  be  one  who  is 
progressing  and  rising  above  the  senses,  to  causes 

Knowledge  of        ^      »  °         .  °  ,•        • 

1.  universais,      and  first  principles,  to  a  generalisation  towards 

2.  Particulars.  ^^  universal  from  the  particular.  Knowledge 
arises  out  of  the  general  whilst  the  particular  affords  us  plea- 
sure;  the  former  is  of  the  intellect,  the  latter  of  the  senses. 
For  this  reason  Pliny  gives  most  pleasure  and  Aristotle  most 
instruction.  A  foolish,  trifling  mind,  is  not  capable  of  receiving 
this  instruction,  nor  is  the  student  who  is  weak  in  making 
right  inferences,  or  one  who  is  quarrelsome  and  demands  a 
plain  and  irrefutable  reason  for  everything.  This  is  not  always 
possible  in  every  case,  since  everyone  must  be  content  with 
that  degree  of  probable  truth,  which  will  easily  satisfy  a  sound 
mind,  which  is  possessed  neither  by  prejudice  nor  strife,  but  is 
eager  for  the  truth.  The  teacher  should  connect  this  and  all 
contemplation  of  nature  with  the  cultivation  of  moral  character, 
that  he  may  lead  his  pupils'  minds  to  virtue,  and  instil  into 
them  a  reverence  and  respect  for  piety ;  for  which  the  contem- 
plation of  nature  offers  a  most  abundant  supply  of  opportunities. 
Seneca  and  Plutarch  seem  to  have  wished  to  teach  with  this 
aim.     Sometimes  the  same  aim  also  animates  Pliny. 

Certain  roundabout  ways   have  to  be  taken  in  the  intro- 
duction to  the  "first  Philosophy."    One  has  con- 

Precepts  of  ,  ,      ,  , 

first  phiio-  stantly  to  proceed,  and  then  to  return  whence 

^°P*^^'  one  started,  from  a  to  b  and  back  from  b  to  o, 

because  in  investigating  these  matters  we  do  not  lead  our 
minds  by  the  things  themselves  but  l)y  our  senses,  which  have 
many  windings.     Therefore  we  must  always  work  to  simplify 


CHAP,  ii]  Disputations  175 

matters  to  their  utmost,  so  that  ihey  may  be  perceived  and 
known  by  the  senses.  Afterwards  we  can  guadually  proceed 
further  and  bring  criticism  to  bear,  after,  as  far  as  possible,  we 
have  made  use  of  our  senses.  Names  in  themselves  of  natural 
.  objects  are  not  adequate  for  giving  knowledge, 

"first  Phiio-        since  the  people  from  whom  the  ordinary  speech 
^°^  ^'  emanates,  do  not  grasp  the  essence,  nature,  or 

force  of  things,  and  yet  it  is  only  from  a  knowledge  of  these 
that  right  signification  of  names  could  be  derived.     Nevertheless 
it  is  not  fitting  that  we  should  wholly  withdraw  ourselves  from 
the  custom  of  the  mass  of  the  people,   and  certainly  if  we 
attempt  to  speak  with  some  degree  of  exactness,  the  common 
usage  must  be  made  clear  that  we  may  not  mislead  others. 
Here  disputations  and  a  quiet  comparison  of  studies  rather 
than  altercation  should  be  directed  no  longer  to 
ispu  a  ions.      yictory  and   self-glory,  which  used    to    be   per- 
mitted to  boys,  but  instead   they  should   be    brought  to  the 
search  for  truth.     This  is  the  most  ample  reward  of  toil.     The 
struggle  for  truth  may  be  likened  to  a  battle  which  takes  place 
for  the  deliverance  of  truth.    But  when  truth  has  been  released, 
forthwith  arms  must  be  laid  down  and,  as  the  spears  formerly 
showed  their  glitter  in  the  contest,  they  must  be  lowered  before 
their  Empress.     Do  not  be  ingenious  or  count  yourself  learned 
against  the  truths     You  will  not  by  your  bril- 

We  cannot  do  ?  ,     •        ,r  i  r 

anything  liancy  ovcrshadow  truth  itself,  but  often  you  may 

against  truth,      mislead  by  it  the  dim-sighted  and  infirm  human 

we  can  only  . 

avail  in  work-      intellect  of  someone  else,  and  even  your  own 
'"^  ""^^  ■  intellect.     This  will  not   be  to  the  damage  of 

Truth,  but  it  will  be  to  your  own  hurt  and  that  of  others. 
Therefore  keep  always  the  straight  road  in  these  matters,  and 
as  far  as  it  is  possible,  let  each  one  follow  Truth  with  his 
soundest  judgment.  Put  on  one  side  whatever  presents  itself 
so  as  to  lead  you  astray  as  you  thus  advance,  that  is  to  say,  in 
those  doubtful  points  which  will  arise  from  the  matter  itself. 
'  S.  Paul  in  II  Corinthians  xiii.  8. 


176  Hio^her  Studies  [p.ook  iv 

Do  not,  however,  desert  the  broad  and  royal  way,  and  thus 
seek  the  hindrances  and  stumbling-blocks  which  lie  in  the 
midst  of  devious  by-paths  ready  to  obstruct  the  passer-by ; 
that  is,  do  not  let  the  keen  edge  of  the  mind  wander  as  a 
stranger  through  the  whole  of  nature,  that  it  may  sweep  up 
gatherings  from  any  part  soever,  for  by  this  means  you  may 
obscure  the  light  of  truth  both  for  yourself  and  for  others. 
Now  and  again  let  the  philosopher  separate  himself  from  con- 
ferences with  his  pupils,  so  that  alone  and  undisturbed,  he  may 
call  to  remembrance  and  think  over  the  things  he  has  heard 
and  read.  He  will  then  see  more  clearly  the  details  and  judge 
them  more  exactly.  This  stimulates  in  no  small  measure  his 
understanding  and  his  power  of  judgment.  Chrysippus  the 
Stoic  used  to  say,  "  if  I  were  to  exercise  my  art  in  the  midst 
of  a  great  number  of  people  I  should  never  be  a  philosopher." 
For  students  at  this  stage,  bodily  exercises  of  a  somewhat 
Physical  more  strenuous  nature  should  be  allowed,  i.e. 

Exercises.  '<  more  strenuous "  for  the  stronger  and    more 

fully  developed.  They  need  longer  and  more  eager  walks, 
running,  leaping,  throwing,  wrestling.  These  exercises  should  be 
adapted  to  the  school  age,  and  not  be  of  a  military  nature.  The 
aim  should  be  the  renewal  of  strength  in  order  that  the  health 
may  be  more  firmly  established  in  the  youthful  frame,  and  that 
youth  may  have  more  bodily  alacrity,  lest  the  intellect  be 
weighed  down  by  ill-health.  Nay  further,  these  studies  require 
frequent  mental  recreation,  for  by  their  very  subtlety  and 
difficulty  they  greatly  tire  the  intellect.  Mental  recreations 
over  and  above  those  which  serve  as  physical  relaxation  will  be 
sought  from  subjects  of  the  higher  studies,  e.g.  from  the  reading 
of  poets,  of  cosmographers,  of  historians,  of  both  those  who 
deal  with  natural,  and  those  who  treat  of  civil,  history.  After 
showing  the  picture  of  nature  and  an  exposition  of  the  inner 
system    of  nature  and  the  essences   of  things. 

Method  of  •'  11 

collecting  there  should  follow  the  study  of  the  standards  of 

evidence.  demonstration,  and  immediately  afterwards  the 


CHAP,  ii]  Disputations  177 

study  of  the  art  of  collecting  arguments  and,  in  the  next  place, 
the  art  of  presentation  of  subject-matter  should  be  studied. 
For  in  this  way  pupils  will  understand  everything  in  the  best 
order.  If  these  subjects  were  introduced  earlier,  the  under- 
standing of  them  would  be  hindered  by  ignorance  of  those 
things  which  it  is  necessary  to  make  use  of  in  observations  of 
this  kind,  because  these  materials  are  taken,  partly  from  the 
other  branches  of  knowledge,  and  partly  from  the  current  of 
the  experiences  of  life.  But  these  studies  ought  not  to  be 
postponed  longer,  since  other  very  great  and  thorough  studies 
are  assisted  through  their  instrumentality.  The  method  of 
Parts  of  searching  out  of  evidence  is  one  of  the  two  parts 

Dialectic.  of  dialectics,  the  other  is  the  one  I  have  men- 

tioned above,  viz.  the  theory  of  judgment  or  the  test  of  truth. 
Nevertheless  I  have  separated  them  in  treating  of  instruction, 
since  this  course  is  beneficial  to  the  pupils.  Both  the  arts  of 
Dialectic  and  Rhetoric  are  contentious  from  their  very  nature, 
being  provocative  of  strife  and  obstinacy.  On  this  account, 
these  subjects  must  be  denied  to  a  youth  of  quarrelsome  and 
contentious  disposition,  one  who  is  suspiciously  inclined  towards 
evil ;  for  such  a  youth  will  twist  everything  to  that  end.  Nay, 
both  of  these  arts  breed  very  much  malice,  and 

Who  are  not  ^  ,  .  .      .  .  . 

suited  for  the  lo^  ^his  Tcason  it  IS  not  fitting  that  a  malicious 
study  of  Logic     niind,  and  one  with  any  tendency  towards  acting 

and  Rhetoric.  /  -'  •'  ^ 

deceitfully,  should  be  instructed  in  them.  They 
must  not  be  taught  to  a  bad  man,  nor  to  one  who  is  seditious, 
venal,  given  to  anger,  greedy  of  vengeance;  to  such  an  one 
they  would  be  as  "a  sword  in  the  hand  of  a  madman"  as  saith 
the  proverb.  Nay,  even  if  they  are  entrusted,  in  a  moderate 
manner  and  for  a  short  time,  to  anyone,  he  should  sip  at  them 
rather  than  quaff  them ;  for  they  render  students  thorny, 
quarrelsome,  deceitful.  If  it  is  said  that  this  comes  to  pass 
from  the  fault  of  those  who  make  bad  use  of  them,  that 
undoubtedly  is  so.  But  many  others  also  fall  into  this  fault 
when  the  occasion  presents  itself. 


178  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

Here  we  have  need  of  a  most  eloquent  tutor,  and  what  is 
still  more  important,  one  with  a  sharp  intellect, 

The  sort  of  ,  1  ,  •  ,    •     j  j   •         1, 

teacher  a  sound  and  unbiassed  judgment,  versed  m  all 

required.  kinds  of  learning  and  erudition ;  one  who  as  a 

corrector  of  faults  will  be  exact  and  keen.  Cicero  earnestly 
testified  in  his  Brutus  that  such  a  teacher  is  of  the  greatest 
good.  He  tells  us  that  he  had  such  an  one  in  Milo  of  Rhodes, 
a  man  as  prudent  in  marking  and  censuring  mistakes,  as  in  the 
teaching  of  Rhetoric.  Nothing  is  of  course  so  difficult  as  to 
correct  mistakes  in  speech.  It  requires  observation,  first  of  all, 
of  the  mistakes  ;  then  to  point  them  out  as  it  were  with  the 
finger;  then  to  give  the  ground  of  their  wrongness ;  and  lastly 
to  correct  them.  We  see  often  there  is  something  short  of  the 
mark  without  immediately  being  able  to  say  clearly  what  it  is; 
as  Cicero  writes  of  L.  Gellius,  and  certain  other  orators. 

For  study  in  forming  judgments  tlie  master  will  expound 
at  length  the  Topica  of  Cicero,  and  will  add  the 

Cicero's  and  °  .  -T 

Aristotle's  commentaries  of  Boethius,  or,  as  I  prefer,  the 

Toptca.  Diakctica  of  Rudolph  Agricola,  most  eloquently 

and  ingeniously  expounded  in  three  sections.  Let  the  pupil 
read  several  times  for  himself  Cicero  and  Boethius,  for  to 
M.  Tullius  we  owe  almost  the  whole  of  this  art,  which  was 
discovered  indeed  by  Aristotle,  though  what  he  wrote  was  only 
expounded  in  a  slight  manner,  not  nearly  enough  for  those 
who  wish  to  know  the  subject  thoroughly.  Let  the  pupil  also 
read  privately  the  fifth  book  of  Quintilian  and  two  books  de 
Inventioiie  of  Cicero,  which  work  he  says  he  completed  when 
a  youth.  In  addition  the  commentaries  of  Victorinus  should 
be  read.  Again  and  again  he  will  carefully  study  the  eight 
books  of  the  Topica  of  Aristotle  (as  indeed  all  the  works  of 
this  great  philosopher),  not  so  much  with  a  view  to  refining 
and  adapting  this  instrument  for  judging  what  is  credible,  but 
much  rather  so  as  to  observe  the  maxims  and  the  precepts 
upon  all  matters  which  are  gathered  together  in  that  work,  and 
to  have  them  at  hand  when  the  subject  under  consideration 


CHAP,  ii]  Disptitations  i79 

requires  it.     The  master,  like  a  diligent  bee,  must  fly  round 
through  all  the  garden  plots  of  knowledge,  and, 
^n^'flower-  particularly    for    his    pupils'    sake,    gather    and 

growing  collect  examples  which  he  has  observed.     How- 

^°we\^x"r^act       ever,  for  the  affairs  of  human  life  the  orators 
everything  supplv  abundant  material,  and  the  tragic  poets 

which  serves  i'i    J  i  •     j  T^l 

our  purpose,        abouud    in    illustrations    of   every    kmd.       ine 
^^''"  method  of  treatment  in  the  first  place  will  be 

as  follows  :  The  teacher  will  ask  for,  and  the  scholars  will 
render,  an  account  of  what  they  have  had  taught  them  by 
Practice  and  the  teacher.  They  will  add  the  examples  which 
examination.  j^^yg  ^ggj^  given  them  or  sometimes  such  as 
they  have  found  for  themselves.  Then  should  follow  an  exami- 
nation as  to  the  manner  in  which  great  and  eminent  men 
discovered  their  proofs  and  cases,  and  what  use  they  made  of 
them  in  these  various  passages,  and  how  suitable  they  are. 
Then  let  simple  subjects  be  suggested,  and  let  the  pupils  con- 
sider what  subject-matter  there  is  for  illustrations  in  every  part, 
and  put  them  together  in  a  composition  in  accordance  with 
the  rules  of  the  art ;  as,  should  a  particular  man  be  suggested, 
or  a  philosopher,  or  a  chief,  or  a  state,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
take  a  second  idea  (or  if  necessary,  more)  so  as  to  make  a 
comparison.  One  might  for  instance  make  a  comparison  in  the 
case  of  the  philosopher  by  adding  the  idea  of  his  wife^  When 
all  these  parts  are  carefully  threshed  out  and  the  method  known 
thoroughly,  a  special  and  (as  it  were)  regular  theme  (i.e.  accord- 
ing to  logical  rules)  may  be  taken  in  hand.  For  this,  the 
arguments  for  both  sides  must  be  thought  out,  the  weight  of 
each  should  be  considered,  both  separately  and  also  by  the 
method  of  comparison. 

^  Uxorem.     Some  editions  read  sutorem,  i.e.  a  shoemaker. 


CHAPTER    III 

THE    STUDY   OF    RHETORIC 

On  Rhetoric.  The  opinion  is  refv:ted  of  those  who  consider  this  art  of 
eloquent  speaking  to  be  as  it  were  perilous  and  absolutely  demanding 
rejection.  What  is  to  be  taught  in  the  subject.  A  description  of  the 
writers  on  Rhetoric,  their  subject-matter  and  suggested  improvements 
in  them. 

Hereupon  follows  the  Art  of  Rhetoric  which,  least  of  all, 

it  becomes  good  and  wise  men  to  abandon  or 

speech  must        neglcct':  sincc  it  is  of  the  greatest  influence  and 

not  be  de-  weight.     It  is  ncccssarv  for  all  positions  in  life. 

spised.  °  ■' 

For  in  man  the  highest  law  and  government  are 
at  the  disposal  of  will.  To  the  will,  reason  and  judgment  are 
assigned  as  counsellors,  and  the  emotions  are  its  torches. 
Moreover,  the  emotions  of  the  mind  are  enflamed  by  the 
sparks  of  speech.  So,  too,  the  reason  is  impelled  and 
moved  by  speech.  Hence  it  comes  to  pass  that,  in  the 
whole  kingdom  of  the  activities  of  man,  speech  holds  in  its 
The  power  posscssion  a  mighty  strength  which  it  continually 

in  speech.  manifests.     Not    undeservingly  does    Euripides 

call  eloquence  TvpawiKov  n.  And  it  is  well  known  that  by 
means  of  speech  some  men  have  won  for  themselves  the  most 
ample  resources,  power  and  royal  authority,  e.g.  Pisistratus 
and  Pericles.     But  it  is  said  on  the  other  hand,  that  morals 

'  See  Aristotle,  Politics,  i,  2. 


CHAP.  Ill]        The  Study  of  Rhetoric  i8i 

have  deteriorated.  Therefore  luen  must  not  be  entrusted  with 
knowledge  of  a  subject  like  Eloquence  which  might  be  used 
for  the  injury  of  others.  I  have  shown  above,  to  what  minds 
I  considered  that  this  power  should  be  entrusted  and  how  far 
it  seemed  to  me  the  power  should  be  cultivated. 

Certainly,  the  more  corrupt   men  generally  are,  so  much 

the  more  ought  the  good   and   intelligent  men   to  cultivate 

carefully  the  art    of   Rhetoric,  which   holds    such    sway  over 

the  mind,  so  that  they  may  lead  others  from  misdeeds  and 

crimes  to,  at  least,  some  care  for  virtue.     Its 

Its  necessity* 

very  necessity  is  manifested  from  this  fact,  that 
no  course  of  life  whatever,  and  no  human  activity  can  con- 
tinue without  speech,  whether  the  activity  pertain  to  the 
state,  or  to  the  individual;  whether  it  be  at  home  or  abroad; 
whether  amongst  friends  or  enemies ;  amongst  superiors,  in- 
feriors, or  equals.  This  is  the  cause  of  the  greatest  of  the 
goods  and  evils  of  life.  How  highly  important  therefore  is  it 
to  use  becoming  and  agreeable  speech  with  regard  to  persons, 
things,  places  and  times,  that  nothing  may  be  spoken  per- 
versely, childishly  or  unbecomingly  ^  For  the  whole  treatment 
of  Rhetoric  must  devote  itself  to  this  very  purpose.  The  aim  of 
Rhetoric  is  not  directed  to  any  empty  use  of  words ;  that  they 
be  accounted  beautiful  and  splendid  kinds  of  speech ;  that  they 
may  be  elegant  and  connected  by  a  pleasant  style  of  compo- 
sition: but  that  we  should  not  speak  impurely  and  inaccurately 
and,  to  put  the  whole  matter  shortly,  we  should  speak  so  that 
it  may  be  made  clear  that  this  most  powerful  of  arts  is  a  part 
of  practical  wisdom. 

Wherefore  indeed  in   my  opinion   it   will   be   best  if  first 

of  all  we  examine  what  is  the  end  of  Rhetoric, 

How  Rhetoric  ' 

should  be  and   then   proceed    to    the   means  and   way  of 

*^"^  '^'  teaching.     The  end  of  Rhetoric  is,  for  example, 

to  teach,  to  convince,  to  rouse.     The  means  are  words,  simple 
and  compound,  and  the  conceptions  in  them,  which  must  be 
1  See  Epistle  of  S.  James,  chap.  iii. 


1 82  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

disclosed  and  examined  through  tlieir  qualities  considered  one 
The  end  of  by  onc.     Then  we  shall  see  in  what  manner  the 

oration.  expressions  must  be  applied  to  the  subject  in 

hand:  that  is,  we  ask  who  or  what  the  subject  is,  for  what 
purpose  and  how  ?  Then  especially  we  inquire  into  the 
method  of  teaching,  and  the  parts  thereof,  viz.  convincing, 
rousing,  and  their  rhetorical  forms.  We  have  to  consider 
what  is  the  personality  of  the  speaker  and  of  the  listener,  and 
the  nature  of  the  particular  business  in  hand,  to  decide  what 
are  the  means  suitable  to  produce  a  particular  effect  in  rela- 
tion to  a  particular  place  and  time,  having  regard  to  the 
particular  speaker  and  listener.     With  regard  to 

Instruments.  ,  ,  _.  .        , 

these  matters,  unless  I  am  greatly  mistaken, 
confused  and  unordered  directions,  ill-suited  for  use,  were 
formerly  drawn  up  by  our  ancestors.  Nevertheless  much  ma- 
terial may  Ije  gathered  from  them  by  a  careful  tutor,  namely, 
from  the  rhetorical  books  of  Cicero,  from  the  Institutions 
of  Oratory  of  Quintilian,  from  Hermogenes  (de  Dictionum 
For?nis),  especially  from  his  fifth  book,  which  deals  with  forms 
of  oratory,  and  from  George  of  Trebizond,  for  the  most 
part  the  expositor  of  Hermogenes.  Demetrius  Phaleraeus 
also  teaches  much  "  concerning  the  forms  of  speech  "  in  his 
book  Trepi  ipfxr]i'eia<;  and  Aelius  Aristides  in  his  -n-epl  tov 
ttoXltlkov  \6yov.  For  the  latter  deals  with  the  simple  speech 
as  does  that  of  Apsines  of  Gadara.  Dionysius  Halicarnasseus 
undertook  the  task  of  handing  down  certain  precepts  con- 
cerning the  kinds  of  speeches,  or  of  their  arguments,  according 
as  they  concerned  panegyrics,  epithalamiums,  epitaphs  and 
such  like.       Then  (the  pupil)  will  take  into  his  hands,  from 

the   Latin  writers,  the  fifth  book  of  Martianus 

Rhetoricians.  ,,         ,,       ^       ...        .  j-  t^^       / 

Capella,  Rutihus  Lupus  on  the  J^igures  of  speech, 
which  work,  they  say,  was  translated  from  Gorgias,  not 
Gorgias  Leontinus,  but  another  Gorgias.  Julius  Ruffinianus 
and  Romanus  Aquila  have  bequeathed  to  posterity  books  on 
the  same  subject.    Sulpitius  Victor  has  written  certain  precepts 


CHAP.  Ill]        The  Study  of  Rheio7Hc  183 

on  the  rhetorical  art.  From  all  these  the  teacher  himself 
will  pluck,  as  it  were,  the  blossoms,  and  arrange  a  posy  to 
present  to  his  scholars,  or  he  will  quote  to  them  extracts  from 
these  works  when  he  gives  them  an  account  of  the  old  teachers 
of  the  art.  Should  he  need  at  first  any  easy  and  short  com- 
pendium of  the  art,  let  him  use  such  as  that  of  JMartianus 
Capella  or  that  of  Philip  Melanchthon;  or  the  four  books  of 
Rhetoric  to  Herennius^  ascribed  by  some  writers  to  Cicero, 
though  I  do  not  understand  the  grounds  of  their  opinion. 
It  seems  more  likely  that  they  were  taken  from  the  works 
of  Quintilian  and  put  together  by  Cornificius.  Then  should 
be  read  the  five  books  of  Quintilian,  namely,  the  third,  fourth, 
eighth,  ninth  and  tenth,  the  Orator  of  Cicero,  and  the  Rhetoric 
to  Theodectes  of  Aristotle,  a  work  of  great  ability  and  art  as  is 
always  the  case  with  this  author,  and  one  of  great  utility  for 
aiding  sound  perception,  and  wisdom  in  matters  of  ordinary 
life.  The  youth  himself  will  read  for  his  private  study  the 
rest  of  Quintilian,  the  Fartitiones  of  Cicero  addressed  to  his 
son,  the  de  Oratore  and  the  Brutus,  the  Rhetorica  (addressed 
to  Alexander)  of  Aristotle  (or  whoever  may  have  been  the 
author),  and  the  treatise  of  George  of  Trebizond.  Since 
we  no  longer  have  a  race  of  people  speaking  Latin  or  Greek, 
it  would  be  very  difficult  to  think  out  new  rules  for  expressions 
in  those  old  languages.  We  must  content  ourselves  with  the 
old  ones  and  with  such  others  as  are  quite  universal,  and  from 
their  very  nature  are  the  same  in  all  languages. 

A  general  account  of  philology  {ratio  linguarum)  should  be 
A  theory  of  added  ;    in   what  manner  languages  arose,  de- 

linguistics.  veloped  and  decayed ;   how  the  power,  nature, 

riches,  elegance,  dignity,  beauty  and  other  special  virtues  for 
discourse  of  each  language  should  be  estimated.  Cicero  thinks 
that  the  precepts  of  rhetoric  should  not  be  too  strictly  followed, 
if  for  no  other  reason  than  because,  as  he  says,  scarcely  any 
teacher  himself  has  ever  been  eloquent  in  the  art  of  rhetoric. 

'  Rhetorica  ad  Herenniiuit. 


184  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  same  must  be  said  of  every  instrument 
of  knowledge.  Grace  of  style  is  not  required  predominantly 
for  adornment  and  the  achievement  of  elaborate  composition, 
but  that  the  art  should  aptly  serve  for  practical  use  in  life. 
I  should  not  wish  the  "  exercises  "  in  the  art  of 
ex^r^ci'se^s  in  Speaking  to  be  too  laborious  and  frequent,  lest 

the  art  of  when    occasion    presents    itself,    the   dangerous 

speech.  . 

instrument  should  arouse  a  readmess  to  wound 
the  feelings  of  others,  and  call  forth  an  inclination  towards 
deceit  and  malice:  however,  I  would  have  practical  exercises 
more  numerous  in  the  beginning  than  when  pupils  come  to 
varied  and  multiform  arguments  in  the  form  of  a  theme.  At 
first  they  will  deal  with  certain  somewhat  easy  and  simple 
subjects  which  do  not  greatly  require  SctVwo-is  (exuberance) 
nor  much  formal  arrangement,  e.g.  fables  and  short  stories, 
or  the  expansion  of  a  shortly  expressed  idea,  or  the  com- 
pression of  something  expressed  at  length,  cases  of  which  will 
be  found  very  frequently  in  the  reading  of  authors.  Then 
the  teacher  can  turn  to  other  instructive  and,  at  the  same 
time,  pleasing  methods.  Next  the  pupil  should  proceed  to 
matters  which  involve  an  opponent  in  controversy,  or  which 
raise  a  question.  Lastly,  let  the  pupils  be  occupied  with 
subjects  stirring  the  feelings  and  passions  of  the  mind. 

In  rhetorical  subjects  of  debate  {qieaestiones),  in  the  first 
Common-  place,   those    themes   should    be   chosen  which 

places.  concern    no    particular    cases,    but   which    are 

commonplaces  and  traditionally  accepted  maxims  {sententiae 
translatittae),  as  Seneca  says,  which  in  and  for  themselves 
have  nothing  to  do  with  a  controversy,  but  which  easily  lend 
themselves  to  application  and  transference  to  definite  circum- 
stances. Thus,  e.g.,  expressions  concerning  the  chances  of 
fortune,  cruelty,  and  maxims  on  the  passage  of  time.  Fortius 
Latro  used  to  call  such  expressions  the  "  furniture "  (^siipel- 
lectiie/n)  of  rhetorical  exercises.  In  former  times,  some  writers 
brought   together   commonplaces   for  this  very  purpose,   e.g. 


CHAP.  Ill]        The  Study  of  Rhetoric  185 

Quintus  Hortensius,  Protagoras,  Prodicus,  Thrasymachus  of 
Chalcedon.  Youths  must  have  many  examples  for  practice 
on  this  point  so  that  they  may  express  their  own  thoughts 
and  understand  those  of  others.  Then  follow  subjects  {guaes- 
tiones)  which  include  determining  ''circumstances."  These  are 
called  quaestiones  definitae. 

Scholars  must  make  it  a  practice  never  to  speak  against 
Never  to  the    truth,    Hor    on    behalf    of    a    topic   which 

thf"trmh*'nor  rhctoricians  call  in/amis  (i.e.  disreputable),  as 
to  add  to  the        e.g.   against  Socrates,   or  on  behalf  of  Busiris, 

subject-matter  i     i     ir      r      i  •.!,••, 

of  what  is  or  on  behalf  of  pleasure  as  agamst  what  is  just 

disgraceful.  jj^(j  honourable,  lest  they  should  afterwards  do 
in  earnest  what  previously  they  expressed  as  a  joke,  urged 
on  by  some  depraved  desire  of  the  mind.  Let  all  eloquence 
stand  in  full  battle  array  for  goodness  and  piety,  against  crime 
and  wickedness.  Words  behind  which  there  is  no  intention, 
forthwith  fall  down  broken,  and  are  mere  bombast.  We 
deride  and  scorn  what  is  unfelt  and  unfitted  for  the  practice 
of  life.  Prudence  without  uprightness  is  wickedness,  and  dan- 
gerous deceitfulness.  Therefore  true  and  genuine  rhetoric  is 
the  expression  of  wisdom,  which  cannot  in  any  way  be  sepa- 
rated from  righteousness  and  piety.  Neither  must  we  imitate 
those  practices  which  have  been  in  vogue  among  the  heathen, 
viz.  slander,  tauntings,  the  insinuation  of  the  basest  suspicions, 
inversions  of  what  is  true,  and  the  attempt  to  do  evil  from  a 
good  purpose,  and  to  do  good  from  an  evil  motive.  It  is 
better  to  suffer  the  loss  of  the  cause  for  which  we  fight 
than  to  lose  our  own  integrity.     We  must  not 

Those  things  ... 

which  are  bad      imitate    whatever    is    in    its    essence    bad,    in 

ofthemselves  ■    i      j  i  •/•  j-      i     •.     • 

cannot  by  any  wickcd  people,  nor  even  if  we  find  it  in  any 
circumstances      nian,   howevcr  holy  and   unblameable  he  may 

become  good.  ,  .         , 

otherwise  be. 
We    need    in    no   wise   to   cultivate    the  Judiciale  genus, 
i.e.  the  rhetoric  of  the  judicial  Courts,  in  which,  as  Aristotle 
says,  there  is  much  wickedness.     The  nature  of  this  kind  of 


1 86  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

Rhetoric  sufficiently  testifies  to  this.  To  go  to  law  does  not 
well  become  a  Christian,  how  much  less  those  evasions,  by 
impostures,  snares,  deceit,  which  creep  into  those  unwise  legal 
processes  almost,  as  we  might  say,  against  one's  will. 

Quintilian^  says  "what  if  a  man  cannot  gain  his  end  and 
obtain  a  just  request  by  any  other  means  ?  What  if  one  cannot 
recover  his  toga  except  by  the  sword  or  by  poison,  is  it 
better  to  be  without  the  toga,  or  to  recover  it  by  such  a  means?" 
I  answer :  It  would  be  better  to  lose  one's  life,  not  to  mention 
a  toga,  than  so  to  preserve  it. 

Let  young  men  declaim,  before  their  teachers,  on  those 

matters  which  may  afterwards  be  useful  in  life: 

ec  ama  ion.       ^^^  ^^^  ^^  ^^^^  ^^  habit  of  the  ancicnts  in  the 

philosophical  schools,  on  matters  which  never  occurred  in  real 
life.  Of  this  point  of  practice  Quintilian-  justly  complained. 
Let  scholars  withdraw  into  a  quiet  nook  to  meditate  and 
write  orations ;  in  a  spot  where  no  voice,  no  clattering  can 
be  heard ;  even  let  it  l)e  somewhat  dark,  lest  anything  striking 
their  eyes  or  ears  should  cut  short  the  reflexions  of  the  mind. 
It  is  said  that  this  was  the  custom  of  Demosthenes ^  Scholars 
themselves  will  read  the  "declamations"  and  "persuasives" 
which  Seneca  has  gathered  from  the  orators  of  his  day,  even 
those  which  are  distorted  and  mutilated,  for  not  a  few  of  the 
Greek  passages  are  wanting,  and  the  Latin  ones  are  most 
corrupt.  Nevertheless  they  will  be  of  use  to  the  orator ;  for 
in  them  very  many  arguments  are  keenly  and  shrewdly  in- 
vented, and  gracefully  and  charmingly  expressed ;  and  there 
are  many  figures  of  speech  and,  as  it  were,  "  lights  "  of  style 
in  the  modes  of  expression  in  both  vocabulary  and  precepts. 
There  are  extant  very  prolix  SiaipeVets  ^i^tt^/xcitcdv  (Treatment 
of  Contentious  Questions)  by  the  Sophist  Sopater,  which  the 

1  Institiitioncs,  bk  ill. 
"-  Bk  n,  chap,  ii  ;  bk  iii,  chap.  lo. 

=*  See  Cicero,  de  Finibus  5;  Valerius,  Vjk  viii,  chap.  7;  Plutarch,  in 
Demosthenem;  Quint,  bk  x,  chap.  3  etc. 


CHAP,  hi]        The  Study  of  Rhetoric  187 

teacher  himself  should  closely  examine  and,  as  far  as  seems 
good,  bring  material  from  the  book  into  the  school. 

The  method  of  pronunciation   must   be  considered,  and 
that    too    as    not    of    slight    significance,    for 

Pronunciation.       ^^  ,  .  ,         ,  .  ,  r      ^ 

Demosthenes  felt  this  to  be  of  the  greatest 
importance  in  oratory.  For  this  reason  youths  intending  to 
declaim  will  preserve  their  voice  in  pure  condition  by  diet 
and  exercise,  but  let  it  be  their  natural  voice,  not  one  simu- 
lated and  feigned  as  if  the  pupil  was  being  trained  by  a 
Correction  of  teacher  of  singing.  Each  week  the  tutor  will 
declamations.  correct  one  declamation  before  a  gathered  as- 
sembly. In  connexion  with  it,  he  will  consider  first  the 
matter  which  is  spoken  of;  then  who  speaks,  at  what  time, 
to  whom  he  is  pretending  to  speak  ;  then  he  will  examine 
the  words,  simple  and  compound,  the  sentences,  the  argu- 
ments, the  order,  and  the  quality  of  each  one  of  these  by 
itself.  Then  he  will  criticise  how  far  the  matter  is  suited  to 
the  subject,  to  the  time,  to  the  place,  to  fno.  hearer,  and 
the  speaker  who  is  being  considered.  The  teacher  will  not 
expect  that  all  will  be  perfectly  exact,  that  the  arguments  will 
be  thoroughly  strong  and  incontrovertible.  He  will  rather 
look  that  there  may  be  no  inanities :  since  in  this  art 
nothing  is  more  objectionable  than  what  is  unfitting,  and  the 
Fitness  must  main  principle  may  not  unsoundly  be  said  to 
be  observed.  ^g  "  always  do  what  is  exactly  suitable."  You 
will  see  what  ability,  what  experience,  how  much  practical 
The  usefulness  wisdom  and  Concentration,  are  required  for  the 
of  correction.  work  of  Correction:  wherefore  this  is  the  most 
difficult  task  of  the  master.  Though  so  arduous  for  himself, 
it  is  by  far  the  most  profitable  part  of  his  work  for  his  school. 
For  the  hearer  gains  more  insight  into  learning  and  power 
of  judgment  from  a  single  criticism  than  from  many  lectures 
and  expositions.  For  this  purpose  scholars  should  attend  in 
great  numbers  and  with  intent  minds,  and  bring  with  them 
their  writing  tablets  to  take  down  the  headings  and  most 
F.  w.  12 


1 88  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

important  points.  Presently  in  their  own  rooms  they  should 
write  out  these  notes  exactly,  and  at  greater  length,  and  im- 
print and  engrave  them  upon  the  tablets  of  their  memory, 
so  that  now  a  particular  danger  has  once  been  pointed  out,  it 
may  be  for  ever  avoided.  Let  the  young  men  know  that, 
on  account  of  the  quantity  and  variety  of  the  bad,  by  which 
we  are  continually  assailed  on  all  sides,  it  is  a  task  of 
greater  judgment  and  toil  to  avoid  the  bad,  than  to  preserve 
the  good. 


CHAPTER    IV 

IMITATION 

Imitation.     What  it  is,  and  of  what  great  power  imitation  is.     Who  and 
"^^what  are  to  be  imitated.     Various  indications  how  each  of  the  ancient 
writers  exercised  this  power. 

Although  it  is  natural  to  talk,  yet  all  discourse  whatsoever 
belongs  to  an  "art"  which  was  not  bestowed  upon  us  at  birth, 
since  nature  has  fashioned  man,  for  the  most  part,  strangely 
hostile   to   "art."     Since    she   lets   us  be  born   ignorant  and 
absolutely  skilless  of  all  arts,  we  require  imita- 
mi  a  ion.  ^.^^^      Imitation,  furthermore,  is  the  fashioning 

of  a  certain  thing  in  accordance  with  a  proposed  model. 
Hence  models  which  aid  expression  must  be  set  forth,  the 
best  obtainable,  not  the  best  absolutely,  but  those  which  are 
best  suited  to  the  present  state  of  progress  of  the  pupil.  It  is 
a  wise  precept  of  M.  Fabius  Quintilian  that  boys  should  not 
at  first  attempt  to  rise  to  emulation  of  their  master,  lest  their 
strength  fail  them.  An  easier  and  quicker  method  will  be 
to  let  them  imitate  someone  more  learned  than  themselves 
among  their  fellows,  and  contending  with  him  let  them 
gradually  rise  to  copying  their  master  himself.  We  see  this 
plan  followed  by  husbandmen  in  binding  their  vines  to  trees. 
And  just  as  in  man  there  is  seen  a  certain  similarity  in  body 
and  mind,  so  is  imitation  in  an  oration \     In  oration,  words 

1  See  Pliny  bk  xvii,  chap.  23.     The  similitude  is  taken  from  Quint, 
bk  I,  chap.  2. 


190  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

and  composition  take  the  place  of  the  body,  whilst  ideas, 
arguments,  arrangement  and  economy  of  matter  are,  as  it 
were,  the  mind  and  spirit  of  the  oration.  A  son  is  said  to 
be  like  his  father,  not  so  much  in  that  he  recalls  his  features, 
his  face  and  form,  but  because  he  shows  to  us  his  father's 
manners,  his  disposition,  his  talk,  his  gait,  his  movements, 
and  as  it  were  his  very  life,  which  issues  forth  in  his  actions 
as  he  goes  abroad,  from  the  inner  seat  of  the  spirit,  and  shows 
his  real  self  to  us.     If  someone  could  be  found 

No  one  worthy 

of  all  imita-  who  in  himself  alone  combined  all  excellences 
*'°"'  most  like  and  most  approaching  God,  or  much 

more  if  He  were  God  Himself,  He  would  alone  be  the  One 
who  clearly  must  be  imitated;  but  no  man  is  so  excellent  in 
every  direction.  Wherefore  Seneca  rightly  says  "  We  must  not 
imitate  any  one  man  however  excellent  he  may  be,"  because 
an  imitator  is  never  equal  to  the  author  imitated.  This  is  in 
the  nature  of  things :  what  is  imitated  always  remains  behind 
the  original.  The  more  models  we  have  and  the  less  like- 
ness there  is  between  them,  the  greater  is  the  progress  of 
eloquence.  The  same  opinion  is  expressed  in  Quintilian  who 
does  not  think  that  "  that  which  is  the  most  worthy  of  imita- 
tion is  alone  to  be  imitated." 

There  are  those  who,  out  of  all  authors,  select  only  Cicero  \ 
The  imitation  whoiii  alone  they  imitate.  Cicero  indeed  is  the 
of  Cicero.  best,  though  he  does  not  contain  every  merit. 

Nor  is  he  the  only  author  with  good  style.  When  he  delights 
and  teaches  us  he  is  admirable  beyond  the  rest ;  shrewd  in 
collecting  his  arguments,  he  is  not  equally  dexterous  and 
strong  in  tracing  their  connexion  and  in  their  arrangement. 
He  is  sometimes  wanting  in  power  on  account  of  that 
luxuriant  and  Asiatic  kind  of  speaking  which  was  noticed 
in  him  by  certain  men  of  great  ability,  e.g.  by  Caelius, 
Brutus,  Atticus,  Tacitus  and  Quintilian.  The  last-named 
says  that  he  fought  with  heavy  weights  whilst  Demosthenes 
^  See  dialogue  de  Oratoribiis,  ascribed  to  C.  Tacitus. 


CHAP,  iv]  Imitation  191 

employed  driving  force.  But  these  modern  imitators  regard 
not  so  much  the  mind  of  the  orator  in  his  expression,  as  the 
outward  appearance  of  his  words  and  the  external  form  of 
his  style.  But  everyone  is  not  framed  so  as  to  imitate  well. 
For  nothing  is  more  chiUing  than  the  effort  of  a  man  to 
imitate  Cicero,  when  he  is  without  sufficient  heat  of  feeling 
and  strength  of  judgment.  The  whole  oration  falls  flat,  and  is 
without  motion  and  life.  Such  an  orator  is  Jovianus  Pontanus. 
Imitation  of  Cicero's  words  is  useful  and  safe ;  but  not  of  his 
style ;  for  if  anyone  cannot  achieve  success  in  the  attempt  he 
will  degenerate  into  a  redundant,  nerveless,  vulgar  and  plebeian 
kind  of  writer.  He  may  be  a  very  near  neighbour  of  Cicero, 
but  Cicero  keeps  himself  clear  from  this  cheapness  of  effect 
and  speaks  with  admirable  dignity  of  speech,  with  matter 
drawn  from  science  and  from  the  knowledge  of  many  of  the 
greatest  sul)jects  of  thought.  He  has  also  graceful  and  charming 
rhythm  with  very  apt  and  natural  metaphors,  antitheses  and 
periods  with  an  inexplicable  grace;  he  is  truly  inimitable. 

But  certainly  if  Cicero  is  the  best  and  most  eminent 
stylist,  others  are  not,  on  that  account,  bad  or  contemptible, 
"The  countenance  of  eloquence  is  not  always  one  and  the 
same,"  says  Tacitus,  "  nor  is  that  which  is  different  necessarily 
worse."  Cicero  himself,  in  his  Brutus,  places  many  orators 
of  most  diverse  kinds  in  the  highest  rank.  In  this  respect 
Cicero  and  Demosthenes  (not  to  mention  others)  may  be 
cited  as  examples. 

For  this  reason  there  must  be  exact  observation  as  to  the 
The  mind  kind  of  oratory  to  which  the  disposition  of  the 

follows  what       youth  is  suitcd  (for  wise  men  consider  this  is 

is  suited  to  •'  '■  .  .... 

itself,  and  to  be  noted  in   all  the  instruction   of  life),  in 

fined  t^o"?s°'"^  order  that  each  may  apply  himself  to  that  to 
genius.  which    he   is   inclined    by  his   natural   impulse, 

provided  only  he  is  not  disposed  to  step  towards  the  vicious, 
but  is  attached  to  the  virtuous \     Thus  if  he  likes  copiousness 
1  See  bk  iv,  chap.  2,  p.  177  supra. 


192  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

of  words  let  him  go  to  Cicero;  if  compression  of  speech,  to 
Demosthenes  and  the  Athenians ;  if  restricted  brevity  even 
to  the  verge  of  the  laconic,  to  Sallust ;  for  Quintilian  testifies 
that  nothing  can  be  more  perfect  to  attentive  and  cultured 
minds  than  this  brevity  of  Sallust.  So  it  will  come  about 
that  tlie  scholar  will  reach  in  this  matter  of  oratory  if  not 
the  highest  pitch,  yet  a  position  jjy  no  means  to  be  despised : 
for  all,  or  at  any  rate  the  majority,  desire  rather  than  expect 
to  gain  the  highest  success,  or  even  the  nearest  approach  to 
it.  Furthermore  the  subjects  to  which  each  is  incHned  will 
be  recognised  by  the  delight  which  arises  from  the  harmony 
between  the  subject  and  the  power  to  deal  with  it.  The  scholar 
may  make  an  attempt  on  his  own  account,  but  in  his  earlier 
years  he  should  write  under  the  supervision  of  his  teacher; 
later,  as  he  has  made  further  progress,  by  himself  alone.  But 
if  his  disposition  should  lead  him  into  faults,  e.g.  copious- 
ness of  words,  to  the  point  of  exuberant  redundancy;  or  parsi- 
mony of  words,  to  the  extent  of  becoming  arid  and  devoid 
of  force,  then  the  scholar  should  be  led  back  into  a  right 
and  sound  course  by  imitation  of  a  different  style.  Quintilian 
wisely  wishes  the  gift  of  the  teacher  to  be  this :  to  assist  the 
good  qualities  which  he  may  have  found  in  each  of  his  pupils, 
and,  as  far  as  possible,  to  add  those  that  are  lacking,  and  to 
help  him  to  amend  and  change  what  is  inadequate'. 

The   master  will   also  point  out  which  authors  are  con- 
^,_     ^.  ,  spicuous   in    each   kind  of  style :    thus   Caesar 

The  chief  ^  ... 

authors  in  and  the  Epistles  of  Cicero  will  come  into  the 

of  writing  A^st   rank    for   conversational   style ;    not   how- 

worthy  of  ever,   as   if  Cicero    did   not    equal    any  author 

imitation.  .       ,  ■  ,         •  r  1       / 

\\\  his  selection  of  words  (not  to  mention  any 
other  point),  but  his  diffuse  style  of  writing  in  his  other 
works  is  not  quite  fitting  for  everyday  conversation.  The 
commentaries  added  to  Caesar's  work  by  Hirtius  or  by 
Oppius  are  quite  different  from  Caesar's,  and  have  less  purity 

^  See  bk  i,  chap.  2  and  bk  11,  chap.  2. 


CHAP,  iv]  Imitation  193 

and  majesty  in  their  composition.  The  books  written  by 
Caesar  give  the  impression  of  being  written  by  a  General, 
whilst  the  added  books  show  the  characteristics  we  should 
expect  from  a  civilian.  For  a  bright  style  we  have  Plinius 
Caecilius  and  Politian.  For  a  diffuse  historical  style  there  is 
Livy.  For  the  unfolding  of  counsels  Tacitus  is  an  example. 
For  commentaries  of  history,  Suetonius  and  Florus  must  be 
named.  For  precepts  of  the  arts,  for  scientific  expositions, 
Aristotle.  In  questions  of  language  or  style,  Quintilian 
and  Rudolphus  Agricola.  For  paraphrases,  Themistius  and 
Erasmus.  For  epic  poetry,  Homer  and  Virgil.  For  lyric 
poetry,  Pindar  and  Horace.  For  tragedy,  Euripides  and 
Seneca.  For  comedy,  Aristophanes  and  Terence.  For  accu- 
rate translation,  Theodore  Gaza^  Politian  does  his  work  well, 
and  Erasmus  is  not  without  elegance,  even  to  the  translation 
of  a  single  word.  But  a  model  of  translation  to  be  studied 
is  the  book  of  Cicero,  de  Universitate,  which  consists  of  a 
rendering  of  a  part  of  the  Ti?naei/s  of  Plato.  For  graceful 
form  in  dialogues  we  have  Plato  and  Cicero.  For  an  astute 
method  of  catching  one's  adversary  in  the  wrong  the  Socratic 
inductions  should  be  studied,  if  they  were  only  more  concise 
than  they  are  as  handed  down  to  us  by  Plato.  For  effective 
methods  of  argument  we  turn  to  Aristotle ;  for  su€b-  as  meet 
the  wants  of  the  ordinary  citizen,  the  dialogues  of  Cicero  and 
Lactantius  are  particularly  fitted.  To  encourage  to  right 
manners  and  morals,  Cicero  is  good  ;  to  ward  off  from  what 
is  morally  bad,  read  Seneca.  Seneca  has  elegant,  sharp 
and  brief  sentences  which  he  hurls  like  thonged  darts.  For 
short  observations  on  moral  philosophy  after  the  manner  of 
a  Commentary,  take  Plutarch.  For  harangues  to  people  not 
thoroughly  learned,  read  Cicero.  For  school  teaching,  use 
the  Declamations  of  Quintilian-  (or  whoever  else  was  their 
author) ;  they  are  certainly  of  his  period.     For  an  intellectual 

1  See  L.  Humphrey,  de  ratione  interpretandi. 

^  Quintilian's  Declamationes  were  imitated  by  Vives,  1520. 


194  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

and  learned  circle,  the  speeches  of  Demosthenes  are  suited. 
So,  too,  are  those  to  be  found  in  Livy,  in  whose  histories 
orations  are  interwoven.  For  sweetness  and  rhythm  we  have 
Isocrates.  Plato  has  a  still  higher  flight.  Plato,  indeed,  to 
(juote  Aristotle,  flows  on  between  prose  and  verse.  But 
Dicaearchus,  the  Peripatetic,  blames  the  whole  method  of 
Plato's  writing  as  though  it  were  harsh  and  irksome. 

From  all  these  authors,  the  scholar  will  choose  what  is 
useful  to  the  aims  of  his  work,  and  he  will  follow  the  method 
of  painters,  who,  from  the  aspect  of  fields  and  plains,  transfer 
all  the  most  pleasing  sights  on  to  their  own  canvas.  Not 
undeservedly  is  Zeuxis  of  Heraclea  praised  by  Cicero^  himself, 
because  in  painting  Helen,  he  chose  from  many  very  beautiful 
women  of  Crotona'-  whatever  he  saw  most  charming  in  each. 
To  attain  good  imitation  there  is  need  of  a  quick  and  keen 
judgment,  as  well  as  a  certain  natural  and  hidden  dexterity. 
Therefore  a  true  imitation  of  what  is  admirable  is  a  proof  of 
the  goodness  of  the  natural  disposition.  For  there  are  some 
people  who,  either  by  the  slowness  of  their  judgment,  or  by 
the  lack  of  harmony  of  their  nature  with  the  affairs  of  life, 
in  matters  of  composition,  think  that  every  style  is  to  be 
referred  back  to  the  same  model  of  speech,  as  if  with  some 
one  gesture  they  could  imitate  every  other  gesture,  or  as  if, 
with  one  movement  of  the  fingers,  they  could  run  through 
the  whole  oratorical  gamut.  There  are  others  who,  to  quote 
the  opinion  of  Seneca,  both  understand  their  own  faults  and 
delight  in  them.  Such  an  error  is  very  great  in  all  studies, 
but  especially  in  eloquence,  the  rules  of  which  are  not  exactly 
defined  for  every  case.  The  teacher  should  observe  if  the 
young  man  imitates  a  model  in  a  stupid  manner.  If  he  does 
so,  he  will  persuade  him  from  such  imitation,  and  induce  him 
to  follow  his  own   bent,  so  that  he  may  be  true  to   himself 

^   Bk  II,  de  Inveiitione. 

^  Pliny  has  it  that  the  town  was  Agrigentum,  A^at.  Hist,  bk  xxxv, 
chap.   9. 


CHAP,  iv]  Imitation  195 

when  another's  example  will  not  suit  his  purpose.  In  the 
beginning  indeed,  as  I  have  suggested  before,  let  the  scholar 
only  write  on  the  most  easy  subjects.  For  this  reason  I  will 
permit  him  to  transfer  from  the  model  itself  into  his  own  work 
what  he  cannot  render  into  his  own  form  of  expression,  only 
let  him  not  deceive  himself.  This  is  not  imitation,  but  pil- 
fering ;  and  in  tliis  error,  very  many  are  versed.  Gradually, 
however,  he  will  imitate  truly,  that  is  to  say,  he  will  fashion 
what  he  wishes  to  express  according  to  his  model,  and  yet 
will  not  take  stealthily  patchwork  {centones)  from  his  model 
and  stitch  it  into  his  own  work. 

Still   the   zealous   imitator   will    study,    with    the    greatest 
.    .^  attention,  the  model  he  has  set  up  for  himself, 

How  imita-  '^  ' 

tion  is  to  be  and  will  consider  by  what  art,  by  what  method, 

such  and  such  was  achieved  by  the  author,  in 
order  that  he  himself  witlr  a  similar  artifice  may  accomplish 
his  own  intention  in  his  own  work.  For  the  art  and  work- 
manship, as  far  as  possible,  must  stand  out  as  they  do  in 
the  model ;  in  a  manner,  they  will  be  stolen,  but  the  scholar 
„      .    .^  will  not  use  the  same  material,  nor  write  so  as  to 

How  imita-  ' 

tion  may  Steal  the  author's  workmanship.     For  example, 

become  theft.  .  ... 

supposmg  someone  mtendmg  to  thank  a  certam 
person  were  to  repeat  the  same  speech  as  Cicero  made  to  the 
Senate,  or  to  the  Roman  people ;  or  such  as  Ausonius  made 
to  Gratianus  Augustus,  he  would  indeed  be  stealing ;  but  it 
would  be  imitation,  if  he  were  to  consider  what  effect  the 
author  aimed  at  producing  in  the  opening  {exordium)  of  his 
speech,  what  in  the  second  part,  what  in  the  third,  and  so 
on  in  succession  :  what  he  says  in  furtherance  of  this  aim  in 
the  first  place  and  what  in  the  following,  what  opinions  he 
What  must  makcs  use  of  in  each  place,  what  arguments, 
obs'eV°ved^in  a  ^''°''"  ^^^"'^^'^  sources  they  were  sought,  how  col- 
modei  which        lectcd    and    connected,    what    comparisons    he 

we  have  .  .  ,  ,  ,  , 

undertaken  mtroduces,  what   examples    he   takes,    to   what 

to  follow.  emotions  of  the  mind  he  appeals,  where,  how 


196  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

and  with  what  and  by  whose  authority  he  maintains  his  argu- 
ments. After  a  study  of  these  points,  we  do  not  make  use 
of  the  same  material,  but  adapt  those  which  stand  in  the 
same  position  to  us,  as  they  did  to  our  author.  Let  the 
scholar  study  how  the  author  joined  together  the  more  excel- 
lent things  intended  to  be  committed  to  posterity,  what 
words  bound  together  single  parts,  what  was  the  structure 
of  the  words. 

Then  indeed  let  him  copy  the  same  workmanship,  but  not 
the  same  words  or  conceptions.  Let  us  suggest  a  short 
example  for  illustration.  In  his  Orator  Cicero  states  that 
Carbo,  the  tribune  of  the  plebs,  said  these  words  in  a  certain 
speech,  when  Cicero  himself  was  present:  "'O  Marcus  Drusus, 
I  mean  the  father ;  thou  wast  accustomed  to  say  that  the 
republic  was  sacred ;  and  whoever  should  violate  it,  he  should 
be  punished  by  all.  The  saying  of  the  father  was  wise,  the 
rashness  of  the  son  has  confirmed  it':  and  when  this  was  said 
a  loud  shout  and  applause  of  the  whole  assembly  followed." 

If  someone  should  imitate  that  passage  thus — "O  holy 
Paul,  I  mean  the  native  of  Tarsus  :  thou  wast  accustomed  to 
say  that  charity  was  sacred  and  whoever  should  violate  it,  he 
should  be  punished  by  all.  The  saying  of  the  Apostle  was 
Example  of  wise,  the  rashness  of  the  wicked  has  confirmed 
imitation.  i|- " — jj^jg  will  not  be  imitation  such  as  if  one 

said  "O  holy  Paul,  I  mean,  Paul  of  Tarsus,  thou  wast  in  the 
habit  of  preaching  that  great  was  the  strength  of  charity,  and 
that  whosoever  did  not  live  in  accordance  with  it  was  no 
member  of  Christ's  kingdom.  The  familiarity  men  have  had 
with  what  is  wicked  has  disowned  this  gracious  precept  of  the 
Apostle." 

In  this  imitation  there  is  everything  which  was  felicitously 
expressed  in  the  previous  passage,  the  same 
cannot  be  incisive  clauses,  and  the  same  rhythmical  con- 

clusion of  the  double-trochee  (dichoreusf.  Some 
1  See  p.  200  infra^  the  above  passages  in  the  Latin. 


CHAP,  iv]  Imitation  197 

parts  of  those  passages  which  are  proposed  as  models  can 
never  be  completely  imitated,  owing  to  the  natural  genius  of 
the  original  writer.  Such  must  always  be  followed,  since  they 
cannot  be  rivalled.  None  but  a  madman  would  attempt  it. 
2.  What  can  Others  can  be  attempted  on  almost  all  the 
be  imitated.  eveuts  vvhich  happen  to  men,  and  can  be 
rendered  again  on  the  same  model  either  in  species  or  genus, 
e.g.  by  imitating  copiousness  of  speech,  brevity,  splendour, 
dignity,  grace,  arguments,  order  of  procedure  and  the  like. 
Nevertheless  there  are  some  human  inventions,  of  which 
either  the  art  or  the  practice  has  altogether  perished ;  with 
these  you  will  have  but  poor  success.  Of  this  kind  are  the 
writings  of  those  authors  who  lived  when  the  art  or  practice 
was  flourishing.  So  it  is  in  the  Latin  and  Greek  tongues, 
since  the  people  who  spoke  those  languages  are  no  longer  in 
existence,  we  have  to  ring  the  changes  on  the  words  they  left 
behind ;  we  cannot  make  new  terms  or,  at  any  rate,  new  terms 
must  be  very  few\ 

Style  is  not  equally  borrowed  from  them  ;   for  when  the 
Mode  of  material  has  been  gathered  from  any  source  what- 

imitation.  soever,  the  scholar  should  treat  it  in  accordance 

with  his  own  judgment.  Nevertheless  the  attempt  to  excel  or 
at  least  to  equal  the  ancients  in  adornment  and  elegance,  is 
not  so  much  bad  and  blameworthy  as  dangerous,  for  fear  lest 
we  depart  from  our  own  strength  and  fall  into  absurdities. 
Certainly  it  is  difficult  for  ears  now  to  become  accustomed  to 
the  judging  of  the  sound  of  the  ancient  languages.  For  this 
reason,  it  would  be  better  to  write  in  the  vernacular  languages, 
in  which  the  great  mass  of  the  people  are  themselves  au- 
thorities, teachers,  and  judges. 

■    That  a  boy  should  imitate  is  honourable  and  praiseworthy; 

.         ^  that  an  old  man  should  do  so,  is  servile  and 

/We  ought 

/to  exercise  disgraceful.     It  is  meet  that  a  boy  should  have 

(^imitation.  ^  master  and  guide,  whom   he  should  follow; 

^  Concerning  Imitation,  see  Quintilian. 


198  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

but  not  so,  an  old  man.  For  this  reason  when  you  have  had 
sufficient  exercise  on  the  racecourse  (so  to  speak)  of  this 
imitation,  begin  to  emulate,  and  to  compare  yourself  with 
your  guide,  to  see  where  you  can  approach  nearer  to  him,  and 
how  far  you  are  left  in  his  rear\  As  a  fair  and  diligent  critic, 
examine  his  virtues  and  defects,  what  is  becoming  in  him,  and 
what  is  to  be  accounted  faulty,  which  virtue  is  easy  of  repro- 
duction, which  is  his  own  particular  grace,  and  if  it  is  incapable 
of  reproduction  by  others.  You  will  compare  these  passages 
with  your  own,  either  what  is  said  in  them  with  adequate 
expression,  or  otherwise.  You  will  yourself  correct  your  own 
work,  whilst  avoiding  the  mistakes  of  the  model  and  at  the 
same  time  you  will  give  your  attention  to  his  beauties.  Try 
to  attain  to  his  great  beauties,  and  afterwards  even  to  excel 
them.  Certainly  this  is  an  absorbing  and  arduous  task,  and 
in  it  there  is  need  of  great  industry.  But  excellence  in  every- 
thing is  placed  high  in  front  of  us,  and  as  the  old  proverb 
hath  it  "the  beautiful  is  difficult  of  attainment."  And  not 
only  will  you  meditate  upon  your  own  works  in  comparison 
exactly  with  those  of  your  leader,  but  you  will  also  compare 
your  own  earlier,  with  your  later  compositions,  so  that  you 
may  estimate  progress  from  the  comparison.  The  kind  of 
writing,  whatever  it  may  be,  which  you  are  accustomed  to 
imitate  for  a  long  time,  however  exact  and  elaborate  it  may  have 
become,  will  be  regarded  by  others  as  your  own  natural  style; 
as  Aristotle  tells  us  was  the  case  with  Euripides.  For  fixed 
habit  in  any  direction  passes  over  into  a  state  of  one's  own 
nature.  Wherefore  it  is  sheer  foolishness  to  accustom  oneself 
to  vile  monstrosities,  extravagances  of  expression,  or  a  rough- 
ness of  style  in  oration  rather  than  to  an  easy,  clear,  pure,  and 
elegant  style,  since  the  labour  is  equal  or  even  less  in  the  case 
of  what  is  good. 

The    subjects    of    instruction    discussed   hitherto   are    the 
instruments  of  knowledge,  and  do   not  offer  the  material  of 

'   Quintilian,  bk  i,  chap.  1. 


CHAP,  iv]  Ivtitation  199 

knowledge.      They  have  to  be  applied  to  other  branches  of 

knowledge,    by  which    they  form  and   prepare 

power  of  tlie        ^^""^   minds    of  those   learning  them^     If  such 

instruments         instruments  are   applied   to   the    needs    of  the 

of  knowledge 

is  placed  in  practical  life,  both  public  and  private,  then  the 

acUo^n!^  ^"  scholars  so  equipped  become  the  governors  of 

states,  nay  their  founders  even,  and  the  princes, 
the  judges,  and  learned  in  the  law.  If  such  studies  are 
directed  to  theology,  the  scholars  serve  as  preachers,  and  as 
such  help  to  build  men  up  in  right  practices,  and  make  them 
morally  better.  Indeed  it  becomes  a  wise  man  not  only  to 
be  wise  himself,  but  to  fashion  others  to  virtue ;  and  for  this 
reason  it  is  not  sufficient  that  his  life  be  pure,  his  oratory  must 
also  be  persuasive.  Powerful  indeed  is  the  word  of  truth, 
most  powerful  of  all,  as  Paul  says,  is  the  word  of  God".  This 
was  sufficient  for  the  apostles,  and  more  than  sufficient.  For 
the  wonders  and  the  other  miraculous  acts,  which  they  per- 
formed, stood  in  the  place  of  the  strongest  arguments,  and 
evinced  a  strength  beyond  mere  natural  strength.  They  also 
lived  a  guileless  life,  in  which  even  a  calumniator  could  find 
no  grounds  for  accusation,  a  life  without  injury,  which  it  is 
well  said  carries  the  strongest  persuasion.  And  whenever 
there  was  need  God  gave  His  special  help,  that  help  which  He 
giveth  to  His  beloved. 

But   as   the    manners    and   morals    of    speakers    and   the 
„,.        ,  hearers  now  are,  it  is  a  signal  service  to  truth. 

Where  elo-  _  _     '  o  i 

quence  is  if  drawn  up  in  battle  array,  and  sustained  by 

necessary.  ^j^^  strength  of  cloqucncc  she  may  be  able  to 

win  men's  faith.  Not  but  what  I  should  greatly  prefer  facts  ___ 
of  experience  which  should  lead  to  faith  without  speech  rather 
than  speech  deprived  and  Restitute  of  facts.  But  undoubtedly 
facts  themselves,  clothed  and  decked  with  speech,  with  sober 
and  modest  elegance,  sink  deeper  into  the  minds  of  the 
hearers,  and  do  not  stumble,  as  it  were,  upon  the  very  threshold 
1  Aristotle,  de  Aninia,  i8.  -  Hebrews  iv.  12. 


200  HigJier  Studies  [book  iv 

of  the  ear.  And  for  this  reason  saintly  men  have  never  scorned 
chaste  and  pure  eloquence,  unless  indeed  those  who  could 
not  attain  to  it.  Lactantius  wished  for  himself  eloquence  like 
that  of  Cicero,  in  order  to  fight  more  keenly  for  truth,  and  to 
i:)ersuade   men   more  readily  to  it.     Eloquence 

Eloquence  ^  .  •'  ' 

in  divine  pedantically  exact  and  laboured,  remarkable  for 

subjects.  j^g  picturesqueness,  illustrious  and  glittering  with 

splendour,  and  fully  equipped,  perhaps  has  been  far  from 
l)efitting  the  presentment  of  sacred  subjects;  but  on  the  other 
hand,  language  which  is  base  and  polluted  with  errors  is  much 
less  suitable.  It  is  seemly  that  sacred  matters  should  be 
clothed  in  white  and  clean  linen,  not  in  fine  velvet  or  silk ; 
certainly  not  in  hairy  cloth  or  spotted  flax.  So  much  for 
rhetorical  speech. 


Note.     Passage  from  Cicero:  see  p.  196  supra. 

O  M.  Druse.,  patrem  appello :  tu  dicere  solebas  sacram  esse 
rempublicani :  quicmique  eafti  violavissent,  poenas  esse  ei  ab 
ojnnibus  persolutas :  pawn's  dictum  sapiens,  temeritas  filii  coiii- 
probavit. 

The  suggested  Imitation  : 

O  dive  Faule,  Tharsensem  appello :  tu  semper  praedicare 
consuevisti  magnas  esse  vires  c/iaritatis,  quicunque  secundutn  eum 
7ion  viverent,  nee  pertifiere  ad  regnum  Christi.  Apostoli  sen- 
tentiam  piam  consueiudo  scelerum  abdicavit. 


CHAPTER   V 

THE    MATHEMATICAL   SCIENCES 

How  many  they  are,  and  what  is  the  subject-matter  of  each.  Who  are 
fitted  to  their  study,  by  what  method  and  through  what  authors 
instruction  in  those  subjects  should  take  place. 

Next  the  young  man  should  be  led  to  the  study  of  the 
mathematical  arts,  in  order  that  muteness  may 

The  1        •  J 

Mathematical  succeed  talk,  and  silence  may  be  imposed  on  a 
Sciences.  tongue  previously  busy ;  wherefore  work  will  be 

transferred  from  the  ears  to  the  eyes.     Mathematics  concern 
themselves  with  quantity  and  number.     One  part  is  called  arith- 
metic, another  geometry,  and  these  are  the  earliest 
Geometry.  ^^^^  simplest  mathematics.    Geometry  raised  aloft 

to  the  heavens  becomes  astronomy,  or  if  appHed  to  visible 
things  is  called  Optics  or  Perspective.  Arithmetic  applied  to 
sounds,  gave  Music.  And  each  of  these  has  two  aspects;  the 
one  which  consists  of  the  contemplative  attitude  is  called 
theoretical  {speculativus) ;  the  other  issues  in  work  and  is 
called  practical  {adiiosus  or  effedrixy.  From  the  former  the 
latter  takes  its  source,  which  is  common  to  all  those  things 
connected  with  practice  and  exercise  in  life.  For  the  reflexion 
of  the  mind  precedes  all  human  actions  and  handiwork,  in  the 
relationship  of  sire  and  son.  There  are  some  students  who 
give  themselves  up  entirely  to  the  contemplative  studies,  others 

1  As  to  this  division  of  Arts  see  Quintilian  bk  il,  chap.  19. 


202  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

more  to  the  practical.  But  we,  as  we  have  done  hitherto, 
prefer  rather  to  treat  concerning  the  contemplative  arts.  Yet 
we  shall  refer  sometimes  to  their  practical  aspects. 

The  mathematical  sciences  are  particularly  disciplinary  to 
„.    ...    ,  fliii;htv  and  restless  intellects  which  are  inclined 

1  he  kind  oi  o      y 

minds  fit  for  to  slackness,  and  shrink  from  or  will  not  support 
the  toil  of  a  continued  effort.  For  they  engage 
these  minds  and  compel  them  to  action,  and  do  not  suffer 
them  to  wander.  Forgetful  minds  are  not  suitable  for  these 
studies,  since  the  hundreds  cannot  be  known  and  held  if  the 
prime  numbers  have  slipped  from  memory.  In  this  subject, 
there  is  the  necessity  in  what  is  taught  of  the  idea  of  series 
and  a  perpetual  string  of  proofs.  We  can  thus  easily  let  them 
slip,  unless  they  are  frequently  made  use  of  and  thoroughly 
impressed  on  the  mind.  Often  those  students  who  have  no 
bent  for  the  more  agreeable  branches  of  knowledge,  are  most 
apt  in  these  severe  and  crabbed  mathematical  studies. 

Besides,  if  anyone  allows  himself  to  follow  up  deeply  these 
reflexions  and  observations,  he  will  be  led  by  them  into  the 
infinite :  and  anxious  inquiry  into  such  mathematical  problems 
leads  away  from  the  things  of  life,  and  estranges  men  from  a 
perception  of  what  conduces  to  the  common  weal.  Socrates 
was  so  great  a  mathematician  as  to  be  able  to  shape  the  work  of 
Euclid  of  Megara  (who  was  ridiculed  by  Aristophanes  because 
he  gave  his  attention  too  little  to  the  practical  affairs  of  life). 
Yet  Socrates ',  wisely,  was  of  opinion  that  attention  ought  to  be 
bestowed  upon  geometry,  only  so  far  as  will  enable  everyone 
to  give  and  receive  land  according  to  a  just  measurement. 
By  this  limitation  he  meant  that  everything  should  be  referred 
to  its  practical  use  in  life  and  to  its  effect  on  the  character, 
and  that  studies  should  not  draw  a  man  to  vain  and  profitless 
speculation,  and  that  of  a  most  irksome  kind,  such  as  unduly  pro- 
longed attention  to  the  subject  of  mathematics  necessarily  tends 
to  produce.  Let  scholars  study  the  elements  of  mathematics 
'  See  Diogenes  Laeitius,  bk  ii,  /;/  Socratcni. 


CHAP,  v]  Mathematical  Sciences  203 

indeed  and  even  some  more  advanced  work,  greater  for 
some,  less  for  others,  according  to  the  ability  of  each  pupil, 
to  lead  up  to  their  appHcation  in  the  affairs  of  life  and  to  the 
better  understanding  of  philosophical  subjects.  Plato'  was  in 
the  habit  of  expelling  those  students  who  had  come  to  his 
class-room  without  any  mathematical  preparation  or  who  were 
weak  in  them.  For  in  his  own  case  and  in  that  of  Aristotle, 
and  the  rest  of  the  early  philosophers,  very  many  of  their 
examples  were  taken  from  mathematics,  not  only  because  they 
were  most  suited,  and  offered  the  most  certain  proof,  but  also 
because  in  their  day  they  were  by  far  the  best  known. 

Arithmetic   should    be    learned    in    the    first   place,    since 
indeed  it  is  the  simplest;  and  for  this  reason,  to 

Arithmetic.  ...    -  _,  ....  ,   .  ,   . 

be  studied  first.  Practice  in  this  subject  and  m 
the  treatment  of  numbers  not  only  tests  the  understanding, 
but  also  sharpens  it  and  makes  it  keener'-.  No  part  of  life 
can  be  devoid  of  the  use  of  numbers.  Writers  of  sacred  and 
profane  history  teach  many  mysteries  of  Nature  and  of 
things  divine,  to  be  understood  and  noted  by  means  of 
numbers.  Certain  crass  noblemen  think  it  a  beautiful  and 
'  if  God  pleases '  a  high-born  characteristic,  not  to  know  how 
to  reckon.  The  consequence  is  that  to  be  a  man  is  not 
considered  as  high-born,  as  it  is  to  be  a  lion,  or  a  bear,  or  a 
boar,  acording  to  their  own  coats  of  armsl  For  the  whole 
brute  creation  is  ignorant  of  calculation  ;  man  alone  counts. 
Not  that  I  shall  make  scorn  of  [the  counting  of]  money  a 
matter  of  reproach  to  our  chief  men,  nor  shall  I  frighten  the 
wealthy  from  their  munificence,  but  I  want  all  virtues  to  spring 
from  a  knowledge  of  good,  not  from  an  ignorance  of  evil. 

^  See  Plato,  de  Republica,  bk  vii. 

^  See  p.  81  supra. 

^  Cf.  Erasmus,  de  Civilitate  Morum  Ftieriliuni  (1530)  end  of  Preface  : 
"Let  others  paint  on  their  escutcheons,  lions,  eagles,  bulls,  leopards. 
Those  are  the  possessors  of  true  nobility  who  can  use  on  their  coats  of 
arms  ideas  which  they  have  thoroughly  learned  from  the  liberal  arts." 

F.  W.  13 


204  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

Let  young  men  know  the  elements  of  numbers  and  their 

names  and  shapes.     Hence  they   will   become 

me°thod  of"  accustomed  to  add  them  together,  to  obtain  their 

learning  g^j-,-,   ^\^q^  ^q  separate  those  joined  together,  to 

Arithmetic.  '  '  ■■  .  . 

subtract,  and  to  show  what  the  remamder  is. 
But  since  there  are  many  methods  of  numbering,  e.g.  by 
letters  of  the  alphabet,  or  by  Latin  figures,  that  seems  to  be 
the  most  expedient  which,  from  the  name  of  the  inventor  (as 

some  suppose)  is  called  Algorismus.     I  believe 

Algorismus.  .  a       i   •  •  •  rr^i  i 

that  It  was  an  Arabian  invention.  1  hen  the 
names  of  the  terms  which  indicate  the  quality  and  the 
nature  of  numbers  should  be  added  ;  as  e.g.  the  relations  of 
equal  and  unequal,  prime  and  composite  numbers,  and  the 
relations  of  the  numbers  amongst  themselves,  and  Arithmetic 
in  its  whole  inner  structure. 

In  Geometry  there  will  be  set  forth  the  explanations  of  all 
the   terms   used   in    the   subject.     Then    those 

Geometry  and 

the  ground  for     principles  which  seem  to  be  most  in  agreement 
teachmgit.  ^^,j^j^  ^j^^  constitution  of  our  minds,  and  which 

we  possess  as  though  they  were  impressed  upon  our  mind  as 
anticipations  (i.e.  axioms).  Then  come  theorems  and  their 
proofs  which  (in  accordance  with  what  is  granted)  not  merely 
satisfy  us,  but  also  compel  us,  and  take  by  force  our  assent. 
From  Geometry  are  developed  optics  or  perspective,  and 
architecture,  and  the  art  of  measurement,  all  of  which  have 
great  usefulness  in  ordinary  life  for  protecting  our  bodies ;  for 
from  geometry  we  proceed  to  all  measurement,  proportion, 
movement  and  position  of  heavy  weights,  whether  regarded 
as  movable  or  fixed  at  the  moment,  or  as  immovable.  Then 
follows  the  study  how  to  measure  fields,  mountains,  towers 
and  buildings.  How  great  comfort  does  architecture  bring 
to  us  in  our  dwellings !  How  greatly  Perspective 
assists  in  the  observation  of  pictures  !  Optics 
further  gives  the  theory  of  the  mirror  :  would  that  a  theory  of 
hearing  {auditwa)  had  been  discovered. 


CHAP,  v]  Mathematical  Sciences  205 

In    music    we   have    deteriorated    much    from    the    older 
,    .       ,  masters,  on  account  of  the  dullness  of  the  ear 

Music  and  '  ,.        .      .        .  - 

what  is  born  which  has  Utterly  lost  all  discrnnmation  of 
fromit.  subtle  sounds,  so  that  now   we  no  longer  dis- 

tinguish even  the  long  and  short  sounds  in  common  speech ; 
and  for  this  reason  we  have  lost  some  kinds  of  metres,  and 
that  primitive  harmony  of  tones,  the  effects  of  which  the 
ancient  writers  testify  were  vast  and  marvellous.  Young  men 
should  receive  theoretical  instruction  in  music,  and  should 
also  have  some  practical  ability.  Only  let  the  pupil  practise 
pure  and  good  music  which,  after  the  Pythagorean  mode, 
soothes,  recreates,  and  restores  to  itself  the  wearied  mind  of 
the  student ;  then  let  it  lead  back  to  tranquillity  and  tracta- 
bihty  all  the  wild  and  fierce  parts  of  the  student's  nature,  as 
it  is  related  in  the  ancient  world,  under  the  guise  of  stories, 
that  rocks  were  moved  and  wild  beasts  allured  by  it.  So  at 
least  we  are  told  in  the  stories  of  Orpheus  and  Amphion. 

Astronomy  concerns  itself  with  the  number,  magnitude 
and  motion  of  the  heavens  and  constellations, 
s  ronomy.  .^  ^^  ^^^^.^  aspccts,  single  and  in  combination. 
The  study  of  astronomy  should  not  be  applied  to  the  divina- 
tion of  the  future  or  to  that  of  hidden  things.  For  this  kind  of 
application  draws  human  minds  with  consummate  vanity,  and 
gradually  lures  them  on  to  impiety.  But,  instead.  Astronomy 
should  be  applied  to  descriptions  and  determinations  of  time 
and  seasons,  without  which  rustic  toil,  on  which  all  life  is 
dependent,  could  not  be  carried  on ;  then  to  the  positions  of 
places,  showing  what  is  the  longitude  and  latitude  of  each, 
and  to  questions  of  distance.  All  this  is  very  useful  to  cosmo- 
graphy and  is  absolutely  necessary  to  the  general  theory  of 
navigation  ;  without  this  knowledge  the  sailor  would  wander 
in  uncertainty  amidst  the  greatest  and  most  grievous  dangers. 
For  the  determination  of  the  height  and  declension  of  the 
constellations,  their  nearness  to  and  distance  from  one  another, 
an  astrolabe  has  to  be  employed,  either  a  quadrant,  as  in  the 


2o6  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

time  of  Ptolemy  or  an  orbicidare  (i.e.  a  whole  circle)  as  is  our 
own  custom. 

James  Faber  writes  suitably  enough  on  both  the  theory  and 
Mathematical  practice  of  Arithmetic,  in  a  book  adapted  for 
writers,  and         school    usc,   partly   drawn    up    by   himself,   and 

translators  of  i         r  i      i  i  i  r      t        i 

mathematical       partly    loundea     on     the     works     of    Jordanus 
works.  Nemorarius  and  Boethius  Severinus.     Similarly, 

he  has  made  a  compendium  of  Music  founded  on  the  last- 
named  author.  Nor  has  he  done  less  for  geometry.  Further 
he  has  written  on  the  sphere,  in  addition  to  which  book,  we 
have  the  work  of  John  of  Sacroboscus,  which  is  also  suitable 
to  be  used  in  class  work  unless  anyone  prefers  that  by  Proclus 
Diadochus.  The  same  Faber  composed  also  Theorica  Plane- 
tarui/i  ("the  theory  of  planets")  which  his  pupil  Jodocus 
Clichtoveus  elucidated  by  commentaries.  The  outline  and 
foundation  of  the  whole  work  was  taken  from  Georgius 
Purbachius.  Concerning  the  use  of  the  astrolabe,  Proclus 
has  left  some  very  short  writings,  but  my  countryman,  Juan 
Poblacion,  is  better  suited  in  his  exercises  for  scholars,  to  which 
the  master  will  add  information  gleaned  from  John  Stoflerinus 
of  Justingen  and  from  Ptolemy.  For  the  sound  grounding  in 
these  subjects,  what  is  said  on  Mathematics  in  the  Margarita 
Philosophica  should  at  least  be  consulted  in  the  rudiments  of 
the  subject.  If  the  teacher  should  regard  it  as  too  burden- 
some to  lecture  on  this  book  himself,  then  he  might  at  least 
advise  his  scholars  to  peruse  it  for  themselves.  Carolus 
Bovillus  has  prepared  an  introduction  to  geometry  and  optics, 
and  there  is  a  book  on  optics  by  a  certain  John  of  Canterbury. 
After  all  these  have  been  mastered,  we  come  to 
Euclid.  I  wish  him  to  be  very  carefully  ex- 
plained. For  in  his  work  we  find  a  far  more  exact  treatment 
of  great  mathematical  questions  than  in  the  work  of  anyone 
else.  In  his  writings,  geometry,  arithmetic,  mirrors,  optics, 
phenomena  of  the  atmosphere  are  discussed  with  great 
acuteness. 


CHAP,  v]  Mathematical  Sciences  207 

The  student  will  read  for  himself  Martianus  Capella,  on 
Mathematics,  as  well  as  the  Introduction  to  geography  of 
Raphael  of  Volterra  and  the  twenty-fifth  volume  on  Philology. 
Censorinus  has  much  to  say  on  Musical  subjects.  Petrus 
Cirvelus  has  left  commentaries  on  "the  Sphere"  of  John  of 
Sacroboscus.  Also  Francis  of  Capua  has  written  upon  the 
same  subject,  and  upon  Purbach's  Theory  of  Planets. 

For  these  studies  in  the  master  and  pupil  there  must  be  a 
calm  intellect,  and  to  a  certain  degree  they  must  be  steadfast, 
careful,  attentive,  intent,  and  keen  upon  the  work.  There  is 
no  need  of  disputations.  Short  questions  and  short  replies 
will  suffice,  or  demonstrations  and  illustrations  by  drawmg. 
A  radius,  sand,  the  abacus— these  are  sufficient  apparatus. 
This  sort  of  knowledge  will  easily  be  forgotten,  and  he  who 
wishes  to  retain  it,  must  go  over  it  again,  from  time  to  time. 
He  who,  for  lack  of  ability  or  lack  of  means,  cannot  further 
pursue  the  subject,  may  here  make  a  halt.  He  will  have 
procured  such  help  as  will  be  useful  in  his  Ufe,  as  I  have 
stated  above,  if  he  has  brought  from  his  study  the  theory  to 
put  into  practice  and  work.  He  can  even  then  teach  others. 
He  will  know  those  authors,  whom  it  is  not  necessary  for 
Mathematical  those  Students  to  study,  whose  mathematics  are 
authors.  only   pursucd    as   preparatory    to    entering    on 

other  branches  of  knowledge.  For  example,  in  arithmetic, 
Cuthbert  Tunstall,  John  Siliceus ;  in  geometry,  Thomas 
Bradwardine;  in  astronomy,  Ptolemy;  and  in  general 
mathematics,  Georgius  Valla.  There  is  no 
Archimedes.        ^^^^^    ^j^^^^  ^j^^  ^^^^^^  ^^  Archimcdes  are  the 

most  accomplished  in  this  kind,  works  which  I  myself  have 
not  seen.  My  pupil  Juan  Vergara  directed  my  attention  to 
them.  He  read  them  in  Spain,  with  the  greatest  possible 
care,  and  wrote  them  out  in  the  night-watches  from  a  secret 
manuscript.  This  is  the  curriculum  for  a  youth  up  to  the 
twenty-fifth  year  or  thereabouts. 


CHAPTER   VI 

AUXILIARY,    PRACTICAL   ARTS    AND    SCIENCES. 
KNOWLEDGE    OF    PRIESTS.     MEDICINE 

On  arts  and  inventions  prepared  both  as  subsidiaries  for  use  and  for  pleasure 
in  life.  Also  on  the  knowledge  of  priests  where  especially  the  inves- 
tigation de  Aninia  is  commended.  Lastly  on  the  medical  art,  how  it 
behoves  physicians  to  be  instructed  in  many  arts,  and  which  accom- 
plishments they  ought  to  have  as  adornments  if  they  wish  adequately 
to  follow  medicine. 

By  this  time  a  man,  of  age,  ability,  learning,  has  become 
riper   in   knowledge  and  experience  of  things. 

The  considera-  ^  ox  o 

tion  of  inferior  He  should  now  begm  to  consider  more  closely 
^^^^'  human  life  and  to  take  an  interest  in  the  arts 

and  inventions  of  men  :  e.g.  in  those  arts  which  pertain  to 
eating,  clothing,  dwelling.  In  these  subjects  he  will  be 
assisted  by  the  writers  on  husbandry.  Then  lie  should  pass 
on  to  those  subjects  which  treat  of  the  nature  and  strength 
of  herbs,  and  of  living  animals.  Then  let  him  turn  to  those 
writers  who  have  treated  of  architecture,  e.g.  Vitruvius  and 
Leo  Albertus.  Next  let  him  consider  those  arts  which  belong 
to  travel  and  conveyance,  in  which  subject  the  horse,  the 
mule,  the  ox  and  all  kinds  of  animal  that  draw  vehicles  are 
to  be  considered.  Next,  navigation  is  to  be  studied,  for  that 
art  deals  with  conveyance.  He  will  study  all  these  subjects ; 
wherefore  and  how  they  were  invented,  pursued,  developed, 
preserved,  and  how  they  can  be  applied  to  our  use  and  profit. 


CHAP,  vi]  Auxiliary  Arts  209 

Already  those  things  have  been  studied  which,  through  all  the 
senses,  conduce  to  the  comforts  of  life,  either  in  connexion 
with  the  private  society  at  home  of  the  husband,  the  wife,  the 
children,  kinsfolk,  relatives,  attendants,  slaves ;  or  those 
materials  which  in  the  affairs  of  the  commonwealth  are  thought 
out  and  discovered  for  it,  by  the  genius  of  man,  or  through 
folly  are  given  a  name,  and  come  into  reputation  without  any 
real  usefulness.  All  these  topics  must  be  included  in  an 
encyclopaedic  course  of  knowledge,  and  in  a  summarised  form. 
In  parts  they  have  been  treated  by  such  writers  as  Plinius, 
Athenaeus,  Aelianus,  Macrobius.  Cicero  says  that  on  these 
matters  old  men  speak  better  in  their  social  circles  and  clubs 
than  the  most  erudite  men  in  their  schools.  Pliny  makes  the 
same  plea  in  his  preface. 

Thus,  there  is  no  need  of  the  school  to  teach  these  subjects, 
but  there  is  need  that  the  pupil  should  cultivate 

By  whom  . 

they  should  a  kccnness  for  hearing  and  knowing  about  these 
matters.  He  should  not  be  ashamed  to  enter 
into  shops  and  factories,  and  to  ask  questions  from  craftsmen, 
and  get  to  know  about  the  details  of  their  work.  Formerly, 
learned  men  disdained  to  inquire  into  those  things  which  it  is 
of  such  great  import  to  life  to  know  and  remember,  and 
many  matters  were  despised  and  so  were  left  almost  unknown 
to  them.  This  ignorance  grew  in  succeeding  centuries  up  to 
the  present,  and  in  a  long  succession  of  years  nothing  was 
disclosed  concerning  the  morals  and  the  art  of  life.  So  that 
we  know  far  more  of  the  age  of  Cicero  or  Pliny  than  of  that 
of  our  grandfathers,  in  respect  of  their  food,  attire,  worship 
and  dwellings.  I  could  wish  that  certain  learned  men  would 
delight  in  that  custom,  as  to  which  I  was  lately 

The  custom  i  j         r  ■       /-^i       i         -tr-      i  -    t 

ofCaroius  told,   01   a  certaui  Charles   Virulus  ot  Louvam, 

Viruius  ^  v[\d,x\  not  as  learned  as  he  was  good  ;  but  that 

praised.  a  ' 

was  neither  for  the  lack  of  ability  or  dihgence, 
but  merely  of  opportunity  and  time.  He  was  the  head  of  the 
Lilian  Gymnasium  at  Louvain.     And  because  he   had  many 


2IO  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

boys  entrusted  to  his  care,  men  of  different  callings  in  life 
came  to  see  their  sons  or  their  relatives  in  his  school.  As  it 
was  necessary  that  the  visitors  should  talk  with  him,  and  even, 
according  to  the  custom  of  that  district,  dine  with  him,  he 
made  a  point  of  inquiring,  some  hours  before  the  time  fixed 
for  dining,  in  what  topics  any  coming  guest  was  best  versed. 
One  was  perhaps  a  sailor,  another  a  soldier,  another  a  farmer, 
another  a  smith,  another  a  shoemaker,  another  a  baker.  In 
Reason  for  the  meantime  before  their  arrival,  he  would  read 

learning  arts.  ^^^^  meditate  upon  his  visitor's  particular  kind 
of  work.  Then  he  would  come  to  the  table  prepared  to  delight 
his  guest  by  conversing  on  matters  familiar  to  him,  and  he 
would  induce  him  to  talk  on  his  own  affairs,  and  give  him 
information  about  the  most  minute  and  secret  mysteries  of 
his  art.  He  would  thus  hear  in  the  briefest  time  details 
which  he  himself  could  scarcely  have  gleaned  from  the  study 
of  many  years.  So  they  would  leave  the  table,  the  guest 
made  quite  happy,  and  the  host  wiser  and  better  informed. 
How  much  wealth  of  human  wisdom  is  brought  to  mankind 
by  those  who  commit  to  writing  what  they  have  gathered  on 
the  subjects  of  each  art  from  the  most  experienced  therein  ! 
This  will  be  a  pleasant  change  and  recreation  of  the  mind 
from  their  studies  for  the  more  advanced  students,  and  a  relief 
from  the  cares  of  set  work ;  for  it  is  a  most  honourable 
occupation  and  one  clearly  worthy  of  a  good  citizen.  By 
such  observation  in  every  walk  of  life,  practical  wisdom  is 
increased  to  an  almost  incredible  degree ;  those  who  make 
such  observations  should  hand  them  down  and  let  them  serve 
posterity,  for  whom  we  ought  to  care  as  we  do  for  our 
own  sons.  They  will  add  their  own  judgments  in  the 
approbation  of  virtue  and  right  conduct,  manners,  and 
morals,  and  by  briefly  and  keenly  condemning  the  vices, 
they  will  more  easily  pierce  the  readers'  minds  as  though 
they  were  stings.  Let  us  now  return  to  the  school  and  its 
classes. 


CHAP,  vi]  Atixiliary  Arts  211 

Much  that  is  false  has  been  written  by  the  ancients  on 

spiritual  matters,  as  e.g.  by  Apuleius  and  Plutarch 

mauers'much      in  their  writings  on  the  daimon  of  Socrates ;  by 

that  is  false         Pornhyrius,    Tamblichus   and    Michael    Psellus; 

amongst  tr    j  ^     j  \       y    a 

ancient  especially  since  daimones  have   greatly  lied  as 

writers.  ^^  thcmselves  and  as  to  the  angels,  partly  as 

the  prompting  of  their  own  pride,  partly  from  the  desire  to 
deceive  men,  for  the  devil,  as  saith  the  Holy  Scripture,  is 
"  a  liar  and  the  father  of  lying\"  When  he  says  the  truth,  then 
he  speaks  from  another's  perception,  but  when  he  speaks  lies, 
it  is  from  his  own  impulse.  So  both  with  reference  to  angels 
and  demons  only  few  things  should  be  gathered,  and  those 
from  our  own  faith  and  in  sober  fashion.  For  an  elaborate 
knowledge  of  these  matters  is  not  necessary  to  us  (nay 
frequently  it  is  harmful) ;  and  therefore  on  this  account,  un- 
certain. On  the  other  hand  the  study  {spemlatio) 
of  man's  soul  exercises  a  most  helpful  influence 
on  all  kinds  of  knowledge,  because  our  knowledge  is  deter- 
mined by  the  intelligence  and  grasp  of  our  minds,  not  by  the 

things  themselves.      This  treatment  of  the  de- 
Treatment  of  °  .     .  . 
the  subject          vclopment  of  knowledge  within  our  souls  will 

of  the  soul.  proceed  parallel  with  the  order  of  nature  itself, 

first  the  discussion  should  be  of  life  itself,  in  general,  then  of 

vegetation,  sensation,  the  feelings  and  the  intellect,  which  may 

be  said  to  consist  of  diverse  functions,  e.g.  inteUigence,  memory, 

reason  and  judgment.     The  teacher  will  get  subject-matter  on 

all  these  things,  best  of  all  from  the  sacred  authors,  then  from 

Aristotle,  Alexander,  xAphrodisaeus,  Themistius,  Plato,  Timaeus 

and  Plotinus.     If  he  wishes  to   expound  Aristotle,  as  is  the 

custom,  he  has  the  three   books  de  Ani?na.      He  may  omit 

Book  I,  but  let  him  expound  the  others :  which  deal  with  the 

senses  and  the  sensations,  the  memory,  sleep  and  waking,  youth 

and  age,  sleeplessness  and  divination  through  dreams.      Let 

the  teacher  draw  attention   to  the  fact   that   Aristotle  was  a 

^   S.  John  viii.  44. 


212  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

heathen,  point  out  the  dangers  of  heathendom,  and  how  these 
may  be  avoided,  and  apply  immediately  the  antidotes  to  these 
poisons.  The  students  will  read  for  themselves  Alexander, 
Themistius,  and  Plato's  Timaeus,  and  also  Timaeus  of  Locris 
himself;  Proclus,  Chalcidius  and  Marsilius  Ficinus  will  explain 
the  Platonic  numbers.  The  same  Marsilius  will  elucidate 
Plotinus  in  his  obscure  and  intricate  passages.  He  divides 
the  study  as  it  were  into  two  parts,  so  that  those  go  one  way 
who  as  doctors  intend  to  pursue  the  health  of  the  body,  and 
they  take  the  other  path  who  wish  to  heal  the  mind. 

For  those  who  take  the  former  path,  let  natural  history  be 
taught  in  outlines  at  this  point,  without  dwelling  upon  subtle 
points  of  the  inquiry  into  the  causes  of  things.  At  the  be- 
ginning, however,  this  aspect  should  be  described  to  a  slight 
extent  until  the  pupils  have  grasped  with  some  interest  the 
idea  of  causation  in  nature  :  I  mean  those  changes  which  are 
more  clearly  visible  to  the  senses.  No  one  has  written  a  work 
on  this  subject  taking  in  the  whole  of  things,  and  giving  a  suit- 
able order  for  teaching  them,  but  there  are  scattered  passages, 
e.g.  in  Aristotle's  eight  books  of  Physics  which  I  have  men- 
tioned before,  four  concerning  the  heavens,  two  about  genera- 
tion, four  of  meteors,  with  passages  in  the  Problems)  from 
Alexander's  book  on  Problems ;  from  Plato  and  from  Timaeus 
whom  I  have  mentioned  just  above  :  from  Apuleius  on  the 
Doctrine  of  Plato :  from  Alcinous  on  the  same  subject  de 
doctrina  Platonis ;  from  the  works  of  M.  Cicero  :  de  Nattira 
Deorum,  de  DivinatioJie,  de  Quaesttotiibus  Acade?nicis.  A  part 
of  Cicero's  de  Universitate  was  translated  from  the  Timaeus  of 
Plato.  Usually  Cicero  reviews  the  opinions  of  others  rather 
than  states  his  own. 

The  Qtiaestiones  Naturales  of  Seneca  are  drawn  from  Peri- 
patetic and  Stoic  teachings.  Plutarch  has  many  such  topics 
of  nature  knowledge  in  his  Convivia  in  the  Quaestiones  Platonici 
and  others  of  his  shorter  works.  His  four  books  de  Placitis 
Philosophorum  as  well  as  Diogenes  Laertius  in  his  Lives  of  the 


CHAP. 


vi]  Auxiliaiy  Arts  21 


Philosophers  will  serve  to  show  the  intelligent  student  how 
many  kinds  of  absurd  opinions  well-known  philosophers  have 
held  on  nature-knowledge.  Students  will  see  that  they,  too, 
were  men,  and  often  held  mistaken  opinions  on  matters  which 
are  most  self-evident.  So  the  studious  will  become  accustomed 
to  give  their  assent  to  reason,  rather  than  to  human  authority. 
They  will  not  marvel  that  in  the  deeper  subjects,  e.g.  m  dis- 
quisitions on  God  and  religion,  there  are  also  errors  of  the 
same  kind  which  the  wise  philosophers  with  their  eyes  open 
used  to  commit,  even  in  matters  of  a  very  simple  nature.  Such 
stumbling  would  not  even  have  happened  to  the  blind,  if  they 
were  not  of  the  same  weak  intellect  as  the  philosophers,  or 
unless  they  were  driven  out  of  the  right  way  by  the  impotence 
of  their  minds.  Censorinus  has  left  a  booklet  de  Die  JVatali, 
in  which  there  is  some  treatment  of  facts  of  nature  :  there  are 
more  still  in  Macrobius,  and  most  of  all  in  Galen.  Of  more 
recent  authors,  not  a  few  facts  are  to  be  found  in  Albertus 
Magnus  (i.e.  Grotus),  although  he  ventures  to  assert  some  very 
dangerous  views. 

The  teacher  will  read  thoughtfully  all  these  authors  unfold- 
ing the  secrets  of  Nature,  and  by  selecting  from  them,  he  will 
put  together  for  his  pupils  a  work  supplying  the  foundations  of 
Nature-study,  with  such  clearness  and  brevity  of  method  as  to 
enable  them  to  clearly  comprehend  and  grasp  the  subject. 
First  he  will  speak  of  the  four  material  elements,  then  teach 
all  those  topics  which  come  under  the  heading  of  perception. 
Then  he  will  deal  with  the  elements,  first  in  their  simple  form, 
then  with  what  is  mixed  and  incomplete..  Next  come  the 
phenomena  engendered  in  the  air,  which  the  Greeks  term 
/x£T€wpa ;  then  stones ;  then  on  all  which  has  life,  on  life  itself, 
on  metals  and  all  mineral  bodies;  on  herbs,  fruits,  trees, 
quadrupeds,  birds,  fish,  insects  and  on  man's  body.  The 
teacher  will  not  expound  by  means  of  narrative,  since  that 
task  would  be  unlimited,  but  rather  seek  to  investigate  causes, 
whence  things  are  derived,  how  they  exist,  develop,  continue, 


2  14  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

act,  and  discharge  their  own  functions  ;  which  of  them  increase 
and  which  decrease,  fall,  perish,  dissolve. 

It  will  be  in  no  wise  necessary  to  bring  forward  the  varying 
opinions  of  writers ;  neither  will  he  burden  the  minds  of  his 
pupils  with  his  own  weight  of  learning.  He  will  be  content 
to  bring  before  them  what  seems  to  him  to  be  most  certainly 
and  strongly  established  by  reason.  If  he  lacks  leisure  to  put 
together  such  an  account,  or  if  he  fails  to  have  the  self-con- 
fidence to  think  he  is  able  to  do  it,  let  him  explain  simply  the 
principles  of  Aristotle,  for  no  other  writer  is  equally  useful  for 
pupils. 

In  Plato  there  is  much  learning,  but  of  a  recondite  kind, 
with  the  consequence  that,  since  art  is  concealed  in  his  works, 
his  writings  are  not  sufficiently  obvious  to  the  learners.  He  is 
more  excellent  for  learned  men,  for  although  in  the  observation 
of  nature  he  cannot  bear  comparison  with  Aristotle,  yet  he  is 
superior  to  that  writer  in  the  precepts  of  morals.  Other  writers 
on  Nature  the  pupil  will  peruse  in  his  private  study.  In  this 
subject  they  especially  need  an  instructor  with  keen  insight, 

,    ^  but  one  who  will  be  very  cautious,  in  making 

Method  re-  ...  ,,,, 

quired  in  these  definitions,  and  \w  formmg  judgments.  ihe 
^^"'^'^^'  youths  will  exercise  themselves  in  frequent  dis- 

putations, but  they  must  not  be  allowed  to  dissipate  their 
strength  on  trifling  and  petty  caviUing.  Let  them  become 
mellowed  with  self-control,  without  arrogance  and  hatred.  Let 
them  not  forget  that  we  very  rarely  attain  actual  knowledge  ;  or 
rather  we  get  none,  as  long  as  so-called  knowledge  consists  in 
people's  views  of  it.  So  there  is  no  reason  why  anyone  should 
pride  himself  on  his  knowledge,  or  should  scorn  others  for 
thinking  differently,  or  holding  other  views  than  his  own. 
He  who  is  about  to  pass  on,  with  his  gathered  know- 
ledge, to  the  medical  art  must  learn  with  exacti- 

Medicine.  ,  ,  ,  r       n  •  i 

tude  the  powers  and  essences  ot  all  mmerai 
substances,  which  are  of  manifold  kinds,  viz.  pigments, 
stones,  gems,  plants,  animals,   the  human  body.     From  this 


CHAP,  vi]  AiLxiliary  Arts  2 1 5 

nature-knowledge  arise  two  subjects  founded  on  observation, 
Dietetics  and  Medicine  proper.  Hippocrates,  the 
prince  of  physicians,  did  not  wish  them  to  be 
treated  as  two  separate  subjects,  but  as  I  remarked  before S  as 
one  body  of  knowledge  developed  out  of  two  members.  When 
we  have  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  powers  and  natures 
of  things,  and  compared  together  other  living  beings,  especially 
with  the  nature  and  constitution  of  the  human  body,  we  see 
what  is  stronger  than  the  interior  of  the  human  body  could 
bear,  as  well  as  what  is  too  small  and  weak  to  strengthen  the 
body,  and  to  sustain  it ;  what  substance  bruigs  to  the  body 
that  tone  or  quality  which  is  ahen  or  inimical  to  it,  and,  if  it 
is  taken  into  the  body,  leads  to  its  great  affliction,  or  pains 
Dietetics;  ^"d  Sufferings  of  the  most  grievous  kind.     We 

its  discovery.  ggg^  qj^  ^\^q  Other  hand,  what  is  congruent  and 
friendly  to  the  life  of  the  body,  to  its  senses,  mind,  intellect, 
i.e.  what  will  preserve  it,  invigour  and  confirm  it  in  strength, 
so  that  there  will  result  a  certain  joyous  sense  of  health.  In 
this  treatment  in  the  first  place,  what  is  suitable  to  the  whole 
race  of  man,  in  common,  must  be  considered.  Then,  the 
individual  man  must  be  studied  in  particular  aspects  and 
relations,  e.g.  as  to  age,  place,  time,  activity,  manners  and 
habits.  Similar  observation  is  necessary  with  regard  to  the 
foods  which  satisfy  his  needs. 

So  far  the  subject  of  Dietetics  holds  sway,  without  which, 
as  Hippocrates  teaches,  life  would  be  boorish  and  beast-like, 
and  suffering  would  assert  itself  almost  every  moment.  Ignorance 
on  these  matters  would  produce  all  kinds  of  violent  suffering, 
nay  even  the  sudden  unexpected  deaths  of  many.  Perception 
would  be  dulled,  the  life  of  the  mind  would  be  stupefied. 
Moreover,  men  would  fall  miserably  into  raving  madness 
and  insanity.  Most  people  think  that  this  kind  of  know- 
ledge must  have  been  more  difificult  to  discover  than  medi- 
cine ;  they  are  even  surprised  that  it  ever  was  discovered. 
^  See  bk  i,  p.  42  supra. 


2i6  Higke7'-  Studies  [book  iv 

Undoubtedly  the  first  discoveries  in  it  must  have  been  due  to 
Indeed,  of  divine  help,  not  less  in  man,  than  in  the  mute 

divine  origin.  animals.  Else  would  the  greatest  part  of  the  races 
of  man  have  perished,  had  they  been  obliged  to  attain  to  the 
"  exploration  "  of  Dietetics  by  their  own  search. 

When  something  has  happened  to  the  body,  which  brings 

its  original  and  ordinary  constitution   into  disorder,  and  gives 

rise  to  affliction  and  pain,  the  hindrance  of  the  normal  functions 

in  a  particular  place,  time,  age,  or   in   habits  of   life,  health 

(valetudo)  is  said  to  be  affected  and  the  liody  is 

Weak  health.  .  . 

said  to  be  sick.  From  a  due  observation  the 
means  are  discovered  to  hinder  the  "  sick  "  state  from  spread- 
ing or  gathering  strength.  Other  precautions  are  taken  to  drive 
the  sickness  away  and  to  sustain  the  body  and  thus  life  may 
be  prolonged.  These  subjects  belong  to  medicine.  Those 
„  .       f  two  arts  of  Dietetics  and  Medicine  are  so  much 

Union  oi 

medicine  and  alike,  are  bound  up  SO  closely  with  one  another, 
that  sometimes  medicine  is  thought  to  be  dietetics 
and  vice  versa.  But  Dietetics  is  more  simple  and  universal  in 
its  functions,  since  it  only  contains  general  precepts  and 
formulae,  whilst  the  physician  goes  into  details  over  a  case, 
and  proceeds  not  by  precept,  but  by  action.  For  no  art 
concerns  itself  as  to  particular  details  which  are  innumerable. 
Moreover,  medicine  is  peculiar  to  the  particular  time  of  sick- 
ness, and  to  particular  people  (viz.  the  sick);  whilst  Dietetics 
has  reference  to  all  men,  and  at  all  times. 

Let  us  now  treat  of  medicine.  This  art  has  power  of  life 
and  death  over  the  bodies  of  men.  To  it  a  power  is  entrusted 
greater  than  any  King  or  Emperor  has  ever  possessed.  Where- 
fore God  and  man  demand  that  the  physician  himself  should 
perform  diligent  work  ;  they  assert  and  require  that  he  shall 
Q    ..^  treat   as  wisely  and   affectionately  as  possible, 

tionsofthe         those  matters  which  are  assigned  to  his  good 
ysician.  f^jth  and  authority '.     How  great  and  disastrous 

^  See  Hippocrates,  de  Medici  Officio. 


CHAP,  vi]  Auxiliary  Arts  217 

a  plague  follows,  if  ignorance  is  the  ally  of  this  authority! 
What  if  (as  is  frequently  the  case)  arrogance  is  united  to  this 
ignorance,  and  from  this  conjunction  arises  frenzy,  and  the 
obstinacy  of  not  yielding  ? 

Therefore  taking  into  consideration  the  discernment  neces- 
sary in  the  very  important  men,  who  practise  this  art,  it 
is  certain  that  he  is  unworthy  of  the  title  and  profession  of 
doctor,  who  does  not  possess  all  these  qualifications :  natural 
qualities,  a  long  period  of  daily  instruction;  uprightness  of 
character,  devotion,  experience.  There  is  need  of  a  diligent 
disposition  and  keen  attention,  of  being  excellent  in  diagnosis; 
prudent,  moderate,  neither  ambitious  nor  ostentatious.  The 
doctor  must  not  be  self-opinionated,  but  one  who  is  willing  to 
adopt  whatever  is  best  in  the  opinion  of  another.  He  will 
be  this  sort  of  man  if  he  has  convinced  himself  that  nothing 
should  be  first,  or  dearer,  than  the  life  and  well-being  of  a  man, 
so  that  he  may  esteem  neither  his  own  opinion  of  himself  nor 
filthy  lucre  more  highly  than  the  man  who  has  committed 
himself  to  him  for  a  refuge,  as  it  were,  from  some  deadly  evil. 
This  truly  is  the  duty  of  a  good  man  and  a  Christian.  For  if 
he  kills  a  man  through  ignorance  or  invincible  obstinacy,  how 
will  he  later  on  atone  for  this  injury?  How  will  he  render  to 
God  an  exact  counter-balance  ?  If  a  mistake  is  made  by  one 
theologian  it  is  corrected  by  another,  if  a  mistake  is  made  by 
a  jurisconsult  it  is  ameliorated  through  the  fairmindedness  of 
the  judge,  by  restitution  of  the  exact  amount,  or,  finally,  by 
a  money  fine.  But  who  indeed  can  repair  the  error  of  a 
doctor?  When  a  man  has  breathed  his  last,  who  can  supply 
a  remedy  ?  So  great  is  the  responsibility,  that  I  wonder  that 
so  many  are  found  who  do  not  hesitate  to  undertake  and  to 
enter  a  profession,  perilous  to  the  last  degree  :  but,  to  be  sure, 
for  the  most  part,  they  enter  upon  the  profession 

Good  fortune  r        i  j  i        _  » 

necessary  to  before  they  understand  how  great  is  the  responsi- 
the  physician,     ^.j.^^  ^^^^  ^^^  Undertaking.     This  indeed  is  so 

great,  that  many  doctors  are  of  the  opinion  that  good  fortune 


2 1 8  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

should  be  added  to  the  other  quaUfications  of  the  good  doctor, 
and  they  think  too  that  prayers  ought  to  be  made  in  order 
that,  after  the  physician  has  duly  discharged  the  requirements  of 
the  precepts  of  his  art,  the  undertaking  may  have  a  successful 
issue.  We  have  in  our  nature  great  infirmity ;  in  diseases, 
there  is  great  violence  and  persistency ;  in  remedies,  a  weak 
and  slow  aid ;  in  the  intellects  of  men,  lack  of  knowledge. 
Against  these  foes,  always  armed  and  always  lying  in  wait  to 
bring  destruction  on  our  head,  with  what  strength  must  we 
fight,  if  we  are  to  prevent  them  from  overwhelming  us  ! 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE    TRAINING    OF   THE    PHYSICIAN 

On  the  function  of  physicians:  how  great  it  is  and  how  multitudinous  a 
knowledge  it  demands.  It  should  not  be  undertaken  by  every  one 
— even  from  amongst  the  learned,  and  why.  In  the  contemplation  of 
his  great  art,  the  doctor  surveys  the  whole  outlook  of  things,  so  that 
others  seek  precepts  from  him  as  if  from  an  oracle. 

The  master  will  start  with  easy  and  simple  precepts,  say, 
the  Aphorisms  of  Hippocrates  or  with  the  '''■  Arf 

The  order  of  ^  .  ,      ^^    , 

teaching  of  Galen,  which  his  pupils  will  learn  thoroughly, 

amf  which  Hippocrates  is,  as  it  were,  the  source  and  father 

authors  are  of  all :  then  comes  his  cxpounder  Galen.    These 

may  be  followed  by  Paulas  of  Aegina,  Largus 
Scribonianu.s,  Celsus,  Serenus,  Psellus,  Nicander,  as  well  as  the 
Arabians;  Avicenna,  Rasis,  Averroes,  Mesues.  From  the  early 
writers  Johannes  Ruellius  has  put  together  quite  recently  in 
Latin  a  book  from  ancient  writers  on  the  Ve/eritiary  Art. 
I  will  say  nothing  about  the  order  of  these  writers,  since  I 
have  not  read  them  with  due  care  and  attention,  neither  have 
I,  so  to  speak,  penetrated  into  the  inner  shrines  of  physicians 
so  as  to  be  able  to  express  a  judgment  on  them.  Let  this  be 
undertaken  by  those  who  happily  are  well  versed  in  this 
particular  branch  of  knowledge. 

The  method  of  instruction  in  the  medical  art,  as  far  as 
I  have  pursued  it,  is  this,  in  the  first  place,  to  set  forth  and 
examine  all  parts  of  the  human  body,  to  tell  what  force  each 
F.  w.  14 


2  20  Higher  Studies  [bc^ok  iv 

one  possesses,  what  natural  disposition,  and  what  proportion 
and,  as  it  were,  harmony  exists  between  them.  Thus  (we 
study)  those  diseases  which  beset  all  mankind  :  those  which 
have  not  one  fixed  seat;  those  which  have.  What  is  the  origin, 
seat,  growth,  progress,  effect,  result,  the  marks  and  traces  left, 
of  each  one  of  these.  Of  what  quality  and  strength  is  the 
substance  which  is  beneficial  to  the  body  against  the  disease 
which  afflicts  it.  Whether  the  effect  is  to  restrain  the  body  from 
growing  weaker,  or  to  drive  the  disease  from  within  outward. 
Then  an  inquiry  must  be  made  as  to  what  this  remedy  is  in 
its  nature.  If  exactly  what  is  needed  cannot  be  discovered, 
the  next  best  remedy  must  be  searched  for,  and  what  is  wanting 
in  it  must  be  made  good  by  another,  possessing  power  which 
the  former  does  not  possess.  Amongst  these  are  considered 
the  operations  of  every  kind  of  natural  product;  then  whatever 
efficacy  is  added  or  removed  by  the  places  or  times  of  using 
them,  e.g.  as  in  Italy  or  in  Flanders,  in  summer  or  in  spring, 
in  inland  districts  or  on  the  sea-shore,  in  dry  or  moist  climate. 
Also  directions  must  be  given  how  it  is  to  be  applied  in  cases 
of  necessity.  If  the  remedy  is  composed,  as  is  often  the 
case,  from  many  and  different  things,  then  the  property  of 
each  must  be  indicated  and  the  reason  why  one  is  to  be  added 
to  and  mixed  with  the  other ;  why  it  assists  and  supplements, 
or  makes  null,  or  checks,  or  sharpens  the  other. 

Disputations    will    take    place   as   to    the    universal    rules 
which  are  deduced  from  the  various  experiments 

Disputations.  i      t         i       ■ 

on  each  substance;  nor  do  I  make  it  my  concern 
to  carefully  examine  those  things  as  to  which  there  is  even  now 
a  doubt  whether  they  exist.  Let  rather  those  substances  be 
regarded  which  it  is  quite  ascertained  are  in  existence,  which 
are  numerous  and  which  will  occupy  a  sufficiently  long  period, 
lest  students  be  perplexed  by  silly  investigations  pertaining  to 
trifles  and  the  cavils  of  quarrelhng  people.  With  such  people 
a  great  loss  of  time  ensues,  time  which  ought  to  be  spent  on 
the  best  and  most  necessary  things. 


CHAP,  vii]   The   Training  of  the  Physician       221 

The  exercises  of  this  art  are  threefold.     First  of  all,  study 

must  be  made  with  regard  to  the  identification 

exercises  in  of  all   those   things  which   are   usually  termed 

medical  remedies,  e.g.  minerals,  pigments,  stones,  gems, 

training.  .  '    i    o  >^  <-■ 

Stocks,  animals,  and  of  whatever  is  found  asso- 
ciated with  them.  And  in  particular  because  healing  properties 
useful  for  all  medicines  are  to  be  found  in  plants,  these  must 
be  constantly  observed  not  once  for  all,  but  also  at  various 
times  and  places,  in  spring,  summer,  autumn,  winter;  at  sun- 
rise, sunset,  and  at  noonday;  under  a  sky  cloudy,  rough,  wet, 
dry  and  calm;  in  fields,  gardens,  woods,  mountains,  and  inland 
places  and  on  sea-coast  districts,  in  hot  and  in  moist  climates ; 
for  plants  receive  a  great  many  modifications  from  all  these 
conditions,  in  root,  leaves,  flowers,  whether  contracted  or 
expanded,  whether  tinged  now  with  one  colour,  now  with 
another,  so  that  you  would  not  pronounce  them  to  be  the 
same  in  autumn,  as  they  were  in  winter,  and  not  the  same 
in  a  dry  and  serene,  as  in  a  damp,  climate.  And  not  only 
will  these  changes  modify  their  appearance  but  also  their 
properties  and  strength,  nay  ev'en  it  is  good  to  consider  the 
same  plant  as  it  appears  in  its  early  growth,  as  it  sprouts  out, 
and  as  it  increases,  as  it  approaches  full  growth  and  also  as  it 
decays  :  and  also  as  it  is  found  at  the  apothecary's. 

Students  should   follow,   frequently  and   assiduously,   the 

dissection  of  the  body  (which  the  Greeks  call 
na  omy.  dvaTOfxia),  to  Study  whence  the  veins,  the  nerves, 

the  bones  originate,  whither  they  proceed  and  whence,  what  is 
the  size  of  them,  what  is  their  purpose  in  a  living  body  and 
what  relation  there  is  between  them.  In  the  second  place, 
there  will  be  practical  training  of  such  a  kind  that  students 
may  visit  with  some  experienced  physician,  and  diligently 
observe,  sick  folk,  and  note  how  the  physician  applies  the 
precepts  of  his  art  to  his  practice. 

In  the  third  place,  when  they  themselves,  alone,  put  their 
hand  to  the  work  they  must   note  when  they  succeed,  and 

14—2 


222  Hio-Jiei'  Studies  [book  iv 

just  as  in  the  case  of  fruit,  we  reserve  certain  specimens  for 
seed,  even  so  in  the  case  of  doctors  there  will  be  very  many, 
almost  all,  whom  it  will  be  convenient  to  place,  for  the  period 
of  life  that  is  left  to  them,  in  the  execution  of  their  profession 
and  in  caring  for  human  bodies.  On  the  other  hand,  there 
will  be  others  who  will  abandon  medical  practice  to  others, 
whilst  they  will  engage  in  the  work  of  medical  observation, 
and  lead  their  life  as  it  were  in  the  very  mysteries  of  the 
profession.  These  will  be  men  who,  either  by  reason  of  their 
own  disposition  shrink  from  the  intercourse  with  their  fellow- 
men,  or  who  have  been  unable  to  endure  the  loathing  of  the 
diseases,  or  who  will  be  unequal  to  the  toil  of  rushing  hither 
and  thither,  or  who  are  of  too  tender  a  constitution  to  be  able  to 
endure  such  numerous  things  as  a  doctor  must  experience  either 
by  sight  or  hearing.  Lastly  there  will  be  those  in  whom  the 
nature  of  the  art  of  medicine  will  be  lacking,  the  art  which, 
in  the  case  of  a  doctor  above  all,  is  to  be  desired  and  mani- 
Difference  in  fested  by  the  practitioner.  But  there  will  be 
physicians.  thosc    in    whom,    besides    this    endowment    of 

nature,  there  is  also  allied  keenness  of  intelligence  and  strength 
of  discernment,  and  learning  also  of  a  diffuse  and  wide  kind,  from 
which  arises  indeed  a  strong  love  for  study,  so  that  not  easily 
even  for  profit  do  they  permit  themselves  to  be  called  away 
Physicians  of  ^"^ovd  professional  investigation.  These  men,  like 
the  first  rank.  masters  of  a  craft,  will  be  continually  versed  in  its 
hidden  mysteries  :  they  will  instruct  others,  will  write,  will  be 
consulted,  and  besides,  they  will  give  some  attention  to  lan- 
guages, and  philosophy,  and  freely  read  every  class  of  authors. 
But  I  should  be  unwilling  that  those  who  apply  the  art  to  the 
service  of  the  human  race,  as  soon  as  ever  they  have  dedicated 
and  consecrated  themselves,  so  to  speak,  to  the  public  service, 
should  transfer  their  attention  more  fully  to  other  branches  of 
knowledge  or  to  practise  other  arts  :  for  there  is  in  this  one 
employment  alone,  enough  and  more  than  enough  for  them,  to 
occupy  their  whole  life,  though  it  he  a  protracted  and  long 


CHAP,  vii]    The   Training  of  the  Physician       223 

one.  Therefore  let  not  teachers  train  one  destined  to  afford 
practical  assistance  to  health,  to  read  Cicero  or 
fo"be°re'ad  by  Demosthenes,  Virgil  or  Homer :  still  less  to  study 
the  medical  authors  of  the  art  of  grammar,  neither  to  study 
""     "  the  historians  nor  even  the  philosophers  :  unless 

it  be  such  as  can  bring  some  assistance  in  the  treatment  of  those 
who  have  committed  their  health  to  their  doctor's  care.  These 
subjects  must  be  learned  before,  and  not  studied  concurrently 
with,  their  professional  work.  To  all  practices  and  studies  of  the 
literary  art  he  will  say  "farewell";  his  attention  will  be  bent  and 
strained  forward  to  this  one  art  alone.  I  should  be  more  ready 
to  allow  the  professor  of  any  other  art  whatsoever  than  this,  to 
dabble  in  other  occupations  :  for  this  art  is  so  lengthy,  wide- 
reaching  and  obscure,  that  scarcely  any  intellect  however  well- 
endowed  is  sufficient  for  its  full  perception,  and  equal  to  practising 
it  duly:  and  how  much  less  then  some  fraction  of  an  intellect? 
Nevertheless  these  men  will  consign  their  own  experiences 
Medical  ^°  literature  for  the  use  of  posterity.     Let  the 

experimen-  physician  clearly  recognise,  that  whatever  time 

he  withholds  from  the  study  of  his  art,  just  so 
much  does  he  steal  and  pilfer  from  the  health  of  his  patients. 
If  he  has  entered  on  his  practice  under  good  auspices,  he  will 
esteem  nothing  more  precious  than  the  human  body.  Wherefore 
all  first  experiments,  which  are  full  of  danger,  he  will  not  try 
upon  the  human  body;  it  does  not  promise  well  to  begin  his 
potter's  trade  on  a  jar,  as  the  proverb  says,  but  rather  set  to  work 
on  a  less  valuable  material,  that  is  to  say,  in  the 
bodies  experi-  physician's  case  on  dumb  animals.  If  it  must  of 
ments  should       necessity  be  done  on  a  man,  let  the  human  bodies 

be  made.  ■'  . 

at  least  not  be  tender  and  delicate  ones  which 
cannot  stand  the  hurt  of  the  surgeon's  knife,  but  those  which 
the  strength  of  the  fomentation  stirs  perchance  and  shakes, 
A  proverb  ^^t  not  such  as  may  prove  fatal;  so  that  it  may 

of  Cicero.  |jg  what  the  ancients  used  to  call  the  "  Danger 

of  the  Carians  "  (i.e.  an  apparent  danger). 


2  24  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

For  the  stage  when  the  physician  has  commenced  to  visit 
the  sick,  copious  directions  have  been  given  by  other  doctors 
what  his  dress  is  to  be,  what  his  refinement,  what  care  he  is  to 
observe  and  what  speech  he  is  to  use.  In  particular  Hippo- 
crates of  Cos  has  written  short  and  wise  directions.  However 
I  will  set  forth  a  few  instructions  somewhat  fully  according  to 
.  ,  mv  custom.     First   of  all,   let  the   doctor  take 

Essentials  ■'  .  .      . 

in  the  good  carc  of  huBself  and  not  be  in  infirm  health, 

p  ysician.  ^^^  ^^^  pallid  in  countenance,  proclaiming  by 

his  own  face,  his  own  indisposition  to  the  eyes  of  those  whom 
he  meets.  And  moreover  let  him  not  hear  quoted  with  regard 
to  himself  that  saying  from  the  sacred  Gospel,  "Physician  heal 
thyself."  For  what  hope  will  be  inspired  in  a  patient  by  that 
doctor  whose  art,  it  is  perceived,  is  productive  of  so  little  good 
for  his  own  health.  Then  on  account  of  the  fastidious  taste  of 
sick  people  let  the  doctor  be  clothed  neatly  rather  than 
sumptuously.  At  the  first  sight  of  his  patient,  he  will  immediately 
take  in  his  appearance  and  his  constitution,  age,  and  vitality. 
He  will  make  inquiries  concerning  former  illnesses,  his  manner 
of  life  and  usual  habits  :  all  this  information  he  will  gather  in  an 
urbane  and  afifable  fashion.  Then  he  will  listen  with  patience 
and  not  pant  after  the  glory  of  long-windedness,  and  not 
prophesying  as  to  the  course  of  the  case,  whilst  seeking  to  find 
out  what  is  amiss  with  his  patient.      Those  who 

Physicians  •  ,    •  1  l    •  y    ■  rr-         r- 

should  not  HI  this  way  attempt  to  seek  this  empty  whifif  of 

give  them-  fame,   bring  serious  trouble  to,   and  affect    the 

selves  too  '  o  ' 

much  to  health  of  their  patients,  indeed,  even  on  occa- 

sion, cause  their  death ;  for,  not  satisfied  with  the 
art  of  healing  they  also  strive  to  reveal  in  themselves  a  power 
of  divination. 

The  good  physician  in  truth  will  not  accept  as  ascertained 
beyond  doubt  whatsoever  he  hears  from  the  women  in  atten- 
dance (on  the  patient).  He  will  himself  form  his  own  judgment 
on  what  they  say,  even  as  a  man  sprinkles  his  own  sauce.  The 
physician  will  gladly  learn  from  others,  nay  he  will  be  grateful 


CHAP,  vii]    The   Training  of  t lie  Physician       225 

for  advice.  Let  him  gain  justness  of  mind  in  forming  his 
judgments,  lest  he  allow  himself  to  be  overcome  by  any  feelings. 
He  will  perceive  that  he  has  acted  distinctly  in  accordance  with 
his  position  if  he  accomplishes  his  aims  by  his  own  moderation, 
and  not  by  the  mere  formal  discharge  of  his  necessary  duties  in 
an  agitated  and  distraught  fashion.  Let  the  doctor  who  is  good 
and  wise  believe  himself  to  be  as  it  were  an  angel,  busying  him- 
self upon  the  earth  as  a  giver  of  health,  so  that  he  may  copy 
the  gods  in  the  uprightness  of  his  character,  and  in  his  disdain 
of  wealth.  Let  him  preserve  his  hands  clean,  and  his  eyes  un- 
stained by  any  impurity.  Let  him  not  consider  in  an  inquiring 
manner,  what  return  for  his  labour  he  will  obtain  from  the  rich^ 
I,  for  my  part,  am  often  lost  in  wonderment  to  see  many  doctors 
intent  on  filthy  lucre,  since  none  more  clearly  understand,  and 
experience,  every  day  how  short  is  life,  how  fleeting,  unstable, 
and  how  light,  are  the  causes  that  snatch  away  the  strongest  of 
men;  and  accordingly,  of  how  little  account  is  wealth,  since  the 
time  in  which  it  can  be  enjoyed  is  so  short  and  its  use  so 
limited.  What  therefore  shall  I  say  of  those  who  prolong 
sickness  from  greed  of  gain?  It  is  impossible  to  conceive  of 
anything  more  inhuman.  Such  ought  not  merely  to  be  rebuked 
privately,  but  rather  should  be  punished  by  pubHc  severity,  not 
less  severely  indeed  than  those  who  are  convicted  of  capital 
How  a  phy-  crimes.  Why  should  he  who  kills  a  free  man  be 
sician  ought  punished,  and  those  be  left  unpunished  who  pro- 
himseif  to  tract  iUnesses  with  a  sure  ruin  to  their  patients' 

the  sick  man.         j^^^j^j^         g^^    j^    ^j^^    j.jj^^    ^f    -^^^^^^^   ^f    ^^^^   ^^ 

weakness  of  mind  disinclines  the  patient  to  conversation,  the 
physician  will  transact  his  inquiries  with  few  and  specially 
prudent  words.  If  the  patient  can  endure  talk,  he  will  narrate 
some  anecdote,  wittily,  pleasantly,  suited  to  the  mood  of  his 
patient,  and  to  enliven  those  present  without  lapsing  into  any 
buffoonery.  In  the  beginning  he  will  make  attempts  to  see 
whether  he  can  heal  his  patient  by  a  rational  mode  of  living, 

^  See  Jerome  Cardan,  de  Libris  Propriis,  pp.  97,  98,  99. 


2  26  Higher  Studies  [book  iv 

that  is  by  dieting,  but  if  the  case  demands  it,  he  will  use  in 
addition,  medicine,  yet  of  a  simple  sort :  but  if  the  force  of  the 
malady  be  rather  severe  and  widespread,  he  will  have  recourse 
to  mixtures  of  medicines.  If  the  case  demands  that  a  con- 
sultation be  held,  other  medical  men  must  be  summoned  :  he 
will  place  before  himself  not  his  own  reputation,  or  payment 
(for  what  are  both  of  these  considerations  in  comparison  with 
the  health  of  a  human  life  ?),  but  that  which  is  of  advantage  to 
the  health  of  the  man  who  has  placed  his  trust  in  him.  He 
„     ,  must  have  a  fatherly  feeling  towards  his  patient 

Conduct  .  .  . 

of  the  if  he  wishes  to  perform  his  function  as  a  good 

p  ysician.  nian.      Is  there  anything  which  inclines  us  more 

to  good-will  and  good  action,  than  the  fact  that  we  are  trusted? 
Wherefore  let  the  physician  enter  into  a  consultation  with  the 
readiness  to  yield  gladly  to  the  opinion  of  anyone  who  advises 
better  than  he  himself.  Physicians  will  not  discuss  in  the 
presence  of  patients,  and  will  neither  exchange  nor  discuss 
views  whilst  others  than  themselves  are  present,  for  in  the 
conflict  of  opinions  on  matters  as  to  which  lay-people  cannot 
judge,  they  know  not  which  side  to  take.  Thence  arises  easily, 
a  certain  despair  of  themselves,  and  a  hatred  against  know- 
ledge, which  comes  to  be  regarded  as  a  matter  of  uncertainty. 


BOOK    V 

STUDIES    AND    LIFE 

CHAPTER    I 

PRACTICAL   WISDOM 

On  the  Practical  Wisdom  of  Life.     Its  aim  and  Use.     On  History 
and  its  subject-matter. 

We  have  now  traversed  the  road  which  leads  to  a  know- 
ledge of  the  nattire  of  things — and  to  the  knowledge  of  bodily 
nurture,  and  of  the  antidotes  for  the  diseases  which  menace 
men,  and  the  remedies  for  those  illnesses  which  have  actually 
befallen  them.  Now  we  approach  that  other  question  :  How 
the  soul  is  to  be  trained  and  made  sound,  so  that  there  may  be 
enlightenment  for  preventing  diseases  entering  the  mind,  or  if 
they  should  enter  it,  or  should  have  attacked  it  already,  how 
they  may  be  expelled  from  it,  and  a  restitution  of  its  soundness 
be  effected  by  the  sovereignty  of  reason. 

In  the  affairs  of  life,  practical  wisdom  stands  at  our  side, 
.    ,  ready  to  be  an  ally;   in  matters  of  religion,  we 

Practical  ■'  ■'  '  ,     j    •  j    u  • 

wisdom  and  have  piety  to  teach  us  who  God  is,  and  how  it 
its  efficacy.  bchoves  US  to  act  towards  Him.    This  latter  kind 

of  knowledge  stands  alone  and  has  a  special  claim  to  the  name 
of  Wisdom,  but  this  is  not  the  place  to  treat  of  it  in  detail. 
So  great  a  subject  demands  a  painstaking  treatment,  to  be 
solely  devoted  to  it. 


2  28  Studies  and  Life  [book  v 

Practical  wisdom,  however,  is  the  skill  of  accommodating  all 
things  of  which  we  make  use  in  life,  to  their  proper  places, 
times,  persons,  and  functions.  It  is  the  moderator  and  rudder 
in  the  tempest  of  the  feelings,  so  that  they  shall  not  by  their 
violence  run  the  ship  of  the  whole  man  on  the  shallows,  or  on 
the  rocks,  or  let  it  be  overwhelmed  in  the  magnitude  of  the 
.  ,   .         waves.    Practical  wisdom  is  I)orn  from  its  parents, 

It  consists  in  ^  ' 

judgment  and  judgment  and  experience.  Judgment  must  be 
experience.  sound  and  soUd,  and  at  times,  quick  and  clear- 

sighted. Experience  is  either  personal  knowledge  gained  by 
our  own  action,  or  the  knowledge  acquired  by  what  we  have 
seen,  read,  heard  of,  in  others.  Where  either  of  these  sources 
is  lacking  a  man  cannot  be  practically  wise.  For  in  matters 
which  are  connected  with  any  practical  experience,  unless  at 
Practice  and  some  time  or  other  you  have  yourself  gone 
experience;  through  the  experience,  however  much  precepts 
may  be  expounded  to  you,  if  you  never  duly  seek  it  yourself, 
of  a  surety,  when  you  apply  your  hand  to  the  work,  there  will 
not  be  much  difference  between  your  coming  to  it  quite  as  a 
novice,  and  never  having  heard  of  it  before.  So  we  find  it  in 
arts,  such  as  painting,  weaving,  sewing.  However  equipped 
with  theoretical  precepts  a  man  may  be,  if  he  api)lies  himself  to 
a  piece  of  work  without  having  had  the  slightest  practice,  his 
, ,  task  will  be  performed  crudely.     Similarly  prac- 

must  be  con-  '  ■'  '    ^ 

firmed  by  ticc  and  experience  of  themselves,  unless  guided 

ju  gmen  .  ^^  judgment,  will  not  profit  a  man  much,  for 

practical  wisdom  will  be  lacking,  and  very  often  a  man  will  be 
infirm  and  useless  just  at  the  moment  of  critical  action.  For 
there  are  many  who  have  experience  in  variety  of  affairs,  and 
who  have  known  the  manners  of  numerous  nations  and  races, 
and  yet  because  they  were  of  sluggish  and  confused  judgment, 
or  rather  of  a  judgment  but  little  in  accordance  with  wisdom 
and  sometimes  of  none  at  all,  they  have  gained  little  by  their 
experiences.  On  that  account  wisdom  is  not  to  be  looked  for 
in  youth,  nor  in  young  men  whilst  they  lack  experience,  nor  in 


CHAP,  i]  Practical   Wisdom  229 

old  men,  who  are  slow,  dull,  or  depraved  in  judgment.  Where- 
fore we  have  postponed  the  treatment  of  this  great  theme  of  the 
grounds  of  the  development  of  this  power  of  using  experience 
till  after  the  methods  of  gaining  knowledge  in  all  the  arts  have 
been  discussed. 

The  aim,  and  as  it  were,  the  target  of  practical  wisdom  is 
„      .    ,     .         a  double  one.      One  part   has   regard  to  that 

Practical  wis-  ^  ,  r  . 

dom  has  a  "  prudence  "  which  brmgs   everythmg   mto  the 

twofold  aim.  sgrvice  of  the  lust  of  the  body  and  its  affections, 
whatsoever  either  the  judgment  or  experience  of  affairs  has 
contrived  for  ingeniously  converting  into  pleasures,  honours, 
wealth,  power.  This  employment  of  "prudence"  is  craftiness 
and  astuteness.  It  is  called  by  our  sacred  scriptures  carnal 
wisdom,  because  it  is  bent  on  what  the  flesh  lusts  after'.  The 
second  aim  is  with  regard  to  those  things  which  belong  to  the 
improvement  of  the  mind,  and  the  helping  of  all  the  actions 
and  thoughts  of  others,  i.e.  the  consideration  how  to  better 
our  own  minds  as  well  as  those  of  others.  And,  since  the 
former,  i.e.  carnal  wisdom,  as  the  apostle  Paul  says,  is  foolish- 
ness, we  will  speak  of  the  latter.  Those  who  are  stupid  by 
nature,  stolid,  inept,  and  puerile  diviners,  all  these  are  unfitted 
for  wisdom,  because  the  best  part  of  wisdom  consists  in  the 
conjectures  which  we  form  of  future  things  from 
Practical  the    Combinations    of    past    events.       Practical 

wisdom  has  .  •        i  •     j        r     j-    •         • 

something  wisdom  IS   thus   a    certain    kind    01    divination, 

of  d^ivination  ^^  ^^^^  ^j^  n^^^yXm  declares:  Account  as  best 
prophet  him  who  has  made  the  best  inferences. 
Bene  qui  coniecerit  hunc  vatem  perhibeto  optimum.  But  these 
will  not  l)e  frivolous  wits,  such  as  are  indulgent  to  themselves,  for 
the  wisest  men  are  not  those  who  flitter  over  the  superficialities 
of  things,  but  those  who  go  the  deepest  into  things  by  a 
diligence  and  assiduity  such  as  pleasure-seeking  minds  cannot 
enjoin  upon  themselves.  Much  less  suited  still  are  buffoons, 
impostors,  garrulous  and  facetious  people  who  make  light  of 
1  Romans  viii.  ;  S.  James  iii.  15,  17;  I  Corinthians  i.  26,  iii.  3. 


230  Studies  and  Life  [book  v 

matters  of  the  highest  importance  with  their  festive  chatter. 
They  frustrate  the  great  hope  of  those  consulting  them  on 
the  weightiest  affairs  with  jocular  licence,  and  show  them- 
selves inept  triflers  on  grave  issues,  as  was  wisely  observed 
by  the  men  of  old,  "It  is  easier  for  a  buffoon  to  be  rich  than 
to  be  a  good  paterfamilias."  Also  stubborn  and  contentious 
men  cannot  possess  much  wisdom,  as  I  shall  soon  show.  Men 
of  this  kind,  since  they  have  no  capacity  for  practical  wisdom, 
i.e.  the  art  of  ruling,  should  rule  over  none,  but  should  rather 
be  directed  by  those  whom  nature  has  fashioned  with  a  greater 
capacity  for  government. 

Judgment  such  as  is  inherent  in  wisdom,  cannot  be  taught. 

Judgment  is        It  Can  be  driven  out,  or  it  can   be  cultivated. 

cultivated;  Stcps  can   be  taken   for  its    cultivation   by  the 

reading  of  those   authors  who  have  been   most 

1.  by  rea  ing,  gj,.Qj-,giy  distinguished  by  this  good  quality, — 
Plato,    Aristotle,     Demosthenes,    Cicero,    Seneca,    Quintilian, 

Plutarch.    Of  our  Church  writers  ;  Origen,  Chrys- 

2.  by  dialectic,  _  t        .        .•  o        ,  •      1     1    r   1 

ostom,  Jerome,  Lactantius.  So,  too,  is  helpiul 
the  study  of  the  instrument  of  inquiry  into  truth  (logic)  by 
which  will  be  shown  what  is  true  in  anything,  or  what  is  like 
the  truth    ^i.e.   the   probable).       From    this    study  comes    the 

greatest  light  into   the    mind.       For  the   art   of 

3.  y  r  e  one,     ^.^^^  speaking  being  understood,  a  great  help  may 
byexperi-        ^^^  afforded  to  the  judgment,  since  experience, 

ence.  which  is  the  second  part  of  practical  wisdom, 

brings  a  very  great  mass  of  detail  to  the  power  of  thinking, 
as  one  hand  helps  the  other. 

We  gain  our  experiences  by  course  of  time  in  the  pursuit 
of    practical    affairs.       What    has    happened    to 

Experience.  ,        i  r  ^.i.  r 

Others,  we  get  to  know  from  the  memory  of 
past  ages,  which  is  called  history.  This  brings  about  the  state 
in  which  we  seem  to  be  not  less  interested  in  past  ages  than  in 
our  own,  and  we  can  continually  make  use  of  their  experience  as 
well  as  that  of  our  own  times.    That  Egyptian  priest  deservedly 


CHAP,  i]  Practical  Wisdom  231 

gave  to  Solon  and  the  Greeks,  who  retained  no  memorials  of 
earlier  ages,  the  name  of  mere  children.    Where 
istory.  there  is  history,  children  have  transferred  to  them 

the  advantages  of  old  men;  where  history  is  absent,  old  men 
are  as  children,  since  history  is,  following  the  definition  of  that 
wisest  of  men,  the  "  spectator  of  time "  and  the  "  light  of 
^,     ,  ,.  ^  truths"     But   apart  from    this   consideration,  it 

The  delight  '^  . 

of  the  study  is  incredible  how  highly  pleasant  the  study  of 
of  history.  history  is  for  right  living.     Its  usefulness  is  also 

great  for  all  the  arts  of  life.  How  greatly  it  delights  and 
refreshes  the  human  soul  we  see  in  the  old  women's  fables, 
to  which  we  listen  with  close  attention  and  high  pleasure,  for 
the  sole  reason  that  they  bear  upon  them  some  appearance 
of  history.  Who  indeed  does  not  prick  up  his  ears  and  arouse 
his  mind,  if  he  hears  anything  told  which  is  unusual,  great, 
admirable,  beautiful,  strong;  a  noble  deed  or  saying  from  those 
stories,  of  which  histories  are  so  full.  There  are  those  to  be 
seen  who,  on  reading  or  listening  to  some  narration  of  events, 
although  only  fiction,  almost  die  for  desire  to  know  all  about 
it.  They  forget  food,  drink,  and  sleep,  and  overcome  their 
natural  desires  for  these  necessaries,  so  as  to  reach  the  con- 
clusion of  the  history  they  are  reading. 

The  usefulness,  nay  also  the  necessity,  of  history  is  reafised 
in   daily   life.       No   one   would   know   anything 
Itrnt^yofthe       about   his   father,  or   ancestors;    no    one    could 
study  of  know   his    own    rights   or    those   of   another  or 

'^^°'^^"  how"  to  maintain    them;    no   one   would  know 

how  his  ancestors  came  to  the  country  he  inhabits;  no  one's 
possessions  would  be  certain  and  valid,  were  it  not  for  the 
help  of  history.  What  am  I  to  say  of  the  great  importance 
of  history  for  the  government  of  the  commonwealth,  and  the 
Cicero  iH  administration  of  public  business?    Cicero  writes, 

Lucuiio.  ^vith  respect  to  L.  LucuUus,  that  he  set  out  from 

Rome,  almost  crude  in  his  knowledge  of  military  affairs,  and 

^  Cicero,  de  Oratore. 


232  Studies  and  Life  [book  v 

that  when  he  had  accomplished  his  whole  journey  by  land  and 
sea,  having  exercised  himself  partly  in  making  inquiries  from 
men  of  experience,  partly  in  the  reading  of  great  achievements, 
he  came  into  Asia  so  far  transformed  into  a  general,  that  Mithri- 
dates,  the  greatest  king  after  Alexander,  recognised  him  as  a 
greater  leader  than  himself,  and  than  any  of  whom  he  had  read 
or  seen.  Alexander  Severus,  as  we  read  in  Lampridius,  was 
accustomed,  in  doubtful  circumstances,  to  consult  those  ac- 
quainted with  history.  Queen  Zenobia,  through  her  knowledge 
of  history  (indeed  she  is  said  to  have  been  a  writer  of  histories) 
was  endowed  with  more  than  the  ordinary  practical  wisdom  of 
women.  How  do  we  account  for  the  fact  that  our  philosophers 
have  not  been  suited  for  ruling  cities  and  peoples,  except  on 
the  ground  of  their  deficiency  in  historical  knowledge,  which 
is  the  nurse  of  practical  wisdom?  It  is  true  there  are  those 
men  who  persuade  themselves  that  a  knowledge  of  antiquity 
is  useless,  because  the  method  of  living  all  over  the  world  is 
changed,  as  e.g.  in  the  erection  of  elegant  dwellings,  the 
manner  of  waging  war,  of  governing  people  and  states.  Since 
this  opinion  is  opposed  to  the  judgment  of  wise  men,  it  is  a 
strong  indication  that  it  is  against  reason.  To  be  sure,  no  one 
can  deny  that  everything  has  changed,  and  continues  to  change, 
every  day,  because  these  changes  spring  from  our  volition  and 
industry.  But  similar  changes  do  not  ever  take  place  in  the 
essential  nature  of  human  beings,  i.e.  in  the  foundations  of 
the  affections  of  the  human  mind,  and  the  results  which  they 
produce  on  actions  and  volitions^  This  fact  has  far  more 
significance  than  the  raising  of  such  questions  as  to  how  the 
ancients  built  their  houses  or  how  they  clothed  themselves. 
For  what  greater  practical  wisdom  is  there  than  to  know  how 
and  what  the  human  passions  are  :  how  they  are  roused,  how 
quelled?  Further,  what  influence  they  have  on  the  common- 
wealth, what  is  their  power,  how  they  can  be  restrained,  healed, 
put  aside,  or  on  the  contrary,  aroused  and  fomented,  either  in 

1  Aristotle,  Ethics,  II,  i. 


CHAP,  i]  Practical  Wisdom  233 

others  or  in  ourselves  ?  What  knowledge  can  be  preferable  for 
the  ruler  of  a  state,  or  more  expedient  for  any  of  his  subjects 
to  know  ?  and  what  so  delightful,  in  the  highest  degree !  and  what 
more  conducive  to  the  happiest  kind  of  practical  wisdom  !  For 
how  much  better  is  it  that  a  man  should  be  warned  by  the  evils 
which  have  befallen  others,  than  await  the  experience  of  them  in 
his  own  person  ?  So  history  serves  as  the  example  of  what  we 
should  follow,  and  what  we  should  avoids  Even  a  knowledge 
of  that  which  has  been  changed  is  useful ;  whether  you  recall 
something  of  the  past  to  guide  you  in  what  would  be  useful  in 
your  own  case,  or  whether  you  apply  something,  which  formerly 
was  managed  in  such  and  such  a  way,  and  so  adapt  the  same 
or  a  similar  method,  to  your  own  actions,  as  the  case  may  fit. 
Indeed,  there  is  nothing  of  the  ancients  so  worn  out  by  age  and 
so  decayed,  that  it  may  not  in  some  measure  be  accommodated 
to  our  modes  of  life.  For  although  now  we  may  employ  a 
different  form,  the  usefulness  yet  remains.  This  could  easily 
be  shown  by  discussing  customs,  one  by  one.  Now  the  study 
of  those  very  arts  could  not  even  persist  if  the  study  of  history 
ceased. 

How  often  are  Hippocrates,  Galen  and  other  physicians, 
historians,  when,   for   instance,   they  relate    the 

History  IS  '  '  .  ^'  •' 

useful  to  all  succcssion  of  their  experiences'-.  So  the  Medical 
the  arts.  ^^^  -^  Collected  from  history,  as  Pliny,  following 

Varro,  asserts.  How  many  kinds  of  diseases  (how  and  whence 
derived,  augmented,  checked,  assuaged,  removed)  are  made 
known  by  an  ancient  account?  Without  knowledge  of  these, 
the  art  of  medicine  would  be  defective  and  would  be  bereft 
of  a  most  powerful  factor.  For  out  of  how  many  practical 
experiences  on  all  sides  has  the  art  of  medicine  to  be  built 
up,  Uke  rain-water  composed  of  drops  !  In  Moral  Philosophy, 
examples  are  of  more  avail  than  precepts ;  for  everyone  more 
willingly  and  more  promptly  imitates  what  he  admires.     Who 

1  See  the  Proem  to  Livy's  Decades. 

-  See  de  Trad.  Disc,  bk  iv  chap.  7  infra,  and  de  Cansis  Corrupt.  Art. 
bk  II. 


2  34  Studies  and  Life  [book  v 

is  not  more  quickly  drawn  to  keeping  his  word  by  the  loyal 
and  magnanimous  example  of  M.  Attilius,  even  in  the  midst 
of  the  most  pressing  danger,  than  by  twenty  treatises  on  the 
subject'  ?  So,  too,  we  are  inflamed  with  the  desire  of  enduring 
bravely  all  things  for  the  glory  of  Christ  rather  by  the  example 
of  martyrs,  than  by  the  admonitions  of  theologians,  and  we  are 
deterred  from  crimes  rather  by  the  terrible  end  of  malefactors 
than  by  the  detestation  of  vice  proclaimed  by  philosophers. 
I  pass  by  the  great  number  of  maxims,  proverbs,  apophthegms, 
by  means  of  which  the  formation  of  character  is  so  greatly 
helped — they  are  all  taken,  by  the  way,  from  history. 

The  whole  of  law  flows  out  of  history  as  is  shown  in  the 

chapter   of   the   jurisconsult    Gaius :    "  On    the 

iaJis"o'be°         Origin  of  Law."     In  that  chapter  the   position 

found  in  ^^f    \^^   jg    described    as   being    just    what    the 

history.  r 

Romans  wrote,  determined,  performed,  what 
the  Senate  decreed,  what  the  magistrates,  according  to  their 
power,  ordained,  what  the  leaders  ordered.  But  whence  do 
we  find  out  all  these  things,  if  not  by  history  ?  So  that  Law, 
whether  the  Roman  or  any  other  Law,  is  nothing  else  than 
that  part  of  history  which  investigates  the  customs  of  any 
people.  In  customs  is  included  the  intercourse  which  they 
have  amongst  themselves  as  a  people,  and  their  intercourse 
with  other  nations. 

And  again.     How  great  a  part  of  Theology  is  a  narration 

of  the  deeds  of  the  Hebrew  people,  of  Christ, 
"diS.sa"bie  of  the  Apostles,  of  martyrs,  and  lastly,  of  all 
advantage  in        ^\^^  Saints,  and   of  the  whole   Church  ?      And 

these  both  teach,  and  most  strongly  mcite  us 
to  act  worthily.  I  should  not  like  to  seem  impudent  in  thus 
mentioning  such  highly  serious  subjects  in  this  connexion,  but 
I  know  not  how  otherwise  history  could  be  proved  to  appear 
more  excellent  than  all  studies,  since  it  is  the  one  study  which 
either  gives  birth  to,  or  nourishes,  develops,  cultivates  all  arts. 

'  i.e.  Marcus  Attilius  Regulus.     See  Cicero,  de  Offidis,  bk  in. 


CHAP,  i]  Practical  Wisdom  235 

It  does  this,  not  through  bitter  and  troublesome  precepts  and 
exercises,  but  by  delectation  of  the  mind,  so  that  you  obtain 
from  its  study  at  the  same  time  the  most  glorious  and  fruitful 
knowledge,  and  a  real  recreation  and  refreshment  of  the  mind. 
In  the  instruction  of  children,  we  have  already  said,  historical 
instruction  should  be  given,  but  for  this  purpose,  only  what  is 
necessary  for  a  knowledge  of  an  outline  of  Epochs  and  the 
names  of  distinguished  men.  But  at  the  stage  we  are  now 
considering.  History  must  be  more  closely  and  more  fully 
studied,  because  it  is  better  understood  by  those  of  riper  age, 
and  by  those  somewhat  experienced  in  the  affairs  of  life.  It 
may  then  be  turned  to  profit  in  practical  living,  by  the  appli- 
cation of  a  trained  judgment,  just  as  moisture  is  diffused  through 
the  body  by  natural  heat,  whence  the  man  is  nourished  and  the 
whole  organism  stimulated.  But  it  profits  us  but  little  in  His- 
tory, to  linger  over  frivolous  and  offensive  details,  the  study 
of  which  involves  great  pains  and  labour,  with  absolutely  no 
fruit,  especially  since  so  great  a  store  of  useful  knowledge  is 
within  our  reach.  We  must  listen  to  the  wise  teacher,  M.  Fabius 
Quintilianus,  who  speaks  in  his  Oratorical  Institutions^  con- 
cerning the  future  orator,  thus  (we  will  borrow  the  words  of 
this  wise  author  which  exactly  bear  upon  our  present  subject): 

"The  exposition  of  historical  events  should  be  added. 
This  must  be  done  with  great  care,  and  not  be  undertaken 
as  a  superfluous  labour.  It  is  sufficient  that  what  has  been 
generally  accepted,  or  clearly  related,  by  renowned  orators 
should  be  expounded;  to  study  whatsoever  any  contemptible 
man  has  once  said  involves  too  much  fatigue  and  idle  ostenta- 
tion. It  holds  back  and  overwhelms  the  mind  which  should  be 
kept  open  for  more  valuable  knowledge.  For  he  who,  in  his 
reading,  searches  out  everything,  even  unworthy  writings,  may  as 
well  devote  himself  also  to  the  study  of  old  women's  fables." 

So  says  Quintilian.  So,  for  the  study  of  the  subject-matter 
of  History,  must  be  prepared  a  plan  of  the  Epochs.     Then 

1  Bk  I,  chap.  13,  bk  ii,  chap.  5  and  bk  X,  chap.  i. 
F.  W.  15 


236  S///(i/cs  ajid  Life  [book  v 

come  events  and  sayings,  which  may  afford  some  good  model, 

or  make  us  shun  an  evil  example.     Wars  and 

benote^di'n  battles    need   not  be   studied  closely,   for  they 

the  study  merely  equip  the  mind  with  examples  for  the 

of  history.  ■'  r        -i  j     ,  .1  •  -u"    1, 

performance  of  evil,  and  show  the  ways  m  which 
we  may  inflict  injuries,  one  on  another.  Yet  we  cannot  help 
noticing  briefly,  who  took  up  arms,  who  were  the  leaders  on 
either  side,  where  the  conflict  took  place,  who  were  beaten, 
and  what  happened  to  them.  But  whatever  is  said  or  read  in 
history,  wars  should  be  regarded  not  otherwise  than  as  cases 
of  theft,  as  indeed  they  usually  were,  excepting  perhaps  when 
undertaken  against  thieves.  But  even  amongst  Christians 
other  causes  less  justifiable,  are  only  too  often  the  grounds 
of  war.  Let  the  student  then  give  his  attention  to  peaceful 
affairs,  a  far  more  satisfactory  and  fruitful  study,  so  that  he 
may  realise  the  glory  and  wisdom  which  have  been  gathered 
from  virtuous  acts,  and  the  disgrace  which  has  followed  on 
horrid  crimes;  how  joyful  have  been  the  deaths  of  benefactors, 
how  mournful  and  miserable  the  deaths  of  evildoers.  Then 
should  be  read  the  sayings  and  answers  of  men  who  have  been 
gifted  with  wit,  wisdom,  experience  of  affairs,  especially  those 
sayings  known  by  the  Greek  word  a.Tro<f)6€yixaTa.  Attention 
should  also  be  given  to  the  counsels,  which  led  to  actions  being 
undertaken,  accomplished,  or  recorded,  of  those  men  especially 
who  have  excelled  in  honesty,  wisdom,  and  the  other  studies  of 
good  arts,  such  as  are  the  philosophers  and,  most  excellent  of 
all,  the  saints  of  our  faith,  so  that  we  may  know  not  only  the 
results  of  the  temporary  excitement  of  the  mind,  but  also  what 
has  been  said  with  the  full  force  of  weighty  intellect  and 
judgment.  It  is  unworthy  to  hand  over  to  our  memories  the 
historical  actions  due  to  our  passions,  and  not  also  to  study 
what  took  place  as  the  outcome  of  the  rational  judgment. 

In  the  first  place  for  History  there  is  necessary  a  knowledge 
of  places,  without  which  it  cannot  be  understood.  But  this  has 
already  been  shown  by  us  elsewhere. 


CHAPTER    II 

HISTORICAL   STUDIES 

Whal  Older  should  be  preserved  in  the  study  of  history  and  which  historical 
authors  have  obtained  the  highest  praise,  some  from  some  critics, 
others  from  others. 

The  oldest  writers  of  History  were  honoured  differently  by 
The  writers  different  nations.  The  Egyptians  press  on  our 
of  history.  noticc  their  priests;  the  Greeks,  Cadmus  the  son 

of  Agenor.  But  it  is  much  more  certain  that  Abraham  of  Ur 
left  behind  him  a  history,  written  earlier  than  all  those  writers, 
and  from  his  account  Moses  obtained  the  description  of  the 
creation  of  Heaven  and  Earth.  This  history  was  received  by 
Abraham  from  the  sons  of  Seth,  who,  as  Josephus  observes, 
recorded  with  letters  on  two  pillars  of  brick  and  stone  the 
beginning  of  the  world  as  well  as  the  first  elements  of  the  chief 
arts^  Hence  it  appears  that  History  took  its  rise  at  once  with 
that  of  men,  because  it  was  thus  expedient  for  the  human  race. 
It  is  well  to  learn  the  course  of  history  from  the  beginning  of 
the  world  or  of  a  people  continuously  right  through  their  course 
to  the  latest  time  for,  then,  all  is  more  rightly  understood  and 
more  firmly  retained  than  if  we  read  it  in  disconnected  parts, 
in  the  same  way  that  in  a  description  of  the  whole  world,  land 
and  sea  are  placed  before  the  eyes  at  a  glance-.  For  thus  it 
is  easier  to  see  the  face  of  the  world  and  the  arrangement  oi 
its  parts  one  by  one,  and  to  understand  how  each  is  placed. 

^  Anliqititatcs  Judaicae^  bk  I,  chap.  3. 
-  See  Polybius,  Histories,  bk  i. 

15—2 


238  Shtdies  and  Life  [book  v 

Polybius  of  Megalopolis  likens  the  history  of  the  whole  human 
race  to  a  complete  living  being,  but  separate  histories  of  races 
he  considers  are  like  that  Uving  being,  torn  to  pieces,  limb 
by  Hmb,  so  that  looking  at  its  mutilated  parts,  no  one  can 
distinguish  its  form,  beauty,  and  strength.  Therefore  we  will 
so  join  together  the  limbs  of  history  as  to  regard  them  as  a 
connected  whole,  if  not  as  a  single  animal,  at 
Sbe  drsTin-  any  rate  as  a  single  building,  adapted  in  all  its 
guished  in  parts  to  the  wholc  design.     Thus  we  should  do 

history.  ^  ,,....  .,, 

as  far  as  the  diversity  in  writers  will  permit  us, 
by  employing  the  method  of  chronology,  than  which  nothing 
is  more  apt  and  suitable  in  the  study  of  history. 

At  first,  an  author  should  be  read  who  weaves  together 
history  from  the  earliest  times  up  to  within  our  own  memory,  or 
approximately  so,  in  a  connected  whole,  so  that  a  full  historical 
outline  is  provided  in  the  form  of  a  summary.  Such  a  writer 
is  Nauclerus,  or  more  copious,  pure  and  laborious  than  he,  and 
moreover  more  learned,  is  Antonius  Sabellicus.  Paulus  Orosius 
describes  the  course  of  history  from  the  foundation  of  Rome  to 
his  own  times,  giving  a  suitable  summary  of  historical  events. 
Then  the  parts  of  history  treated  by  whole  works  of  authors 
must  be  summarised  and  be  put  together  so  as  to  make  a 
connected  whole,  which  will  be  a  more  convenient  course  than 
taking  them  as  detached  pieces.  Moses  treats  of  the  Creation 
of  the  World  in  the  book  which,  on  this  account,  is  entitled 
Genesis.  On  the  same  subject  a  book  is  published  under  the 
name  of  Berosus  the  Babylonian',  but  it  is  a  fabrication,  won- 
derfully pleasing  to  unlearned  and  lazy  men.  In  the  same  class 
of  books  are  the  Aequivoca  of  Xenophon  and  the  fragments  of 
Archilochus,  Cato,  Sempronius,  and  Fabius  Pictor,  which  are 
gathered  together  in  the  same  book  by  Annius  of  Viterbo.  This 
material  he  rendered  more  ridiculous  by  his  own  inventions; 
not  but  what  there  is  some  truth  in  them,  for  otherwise  the 
narrative  would  not  have  such  a  face  to  it,  but  the  body  itself 
1  See  last  [in  1612]  edition  1552. 


CHAP,  ii]  Historical  Studies  239 

of  the  history  is  built  up  on  lies,  nor  is  it  the  work  of  the  man 
whose  name  it  falsely  bears  on  the  title.  The  Egyptian  Mane- 
thon  and  the  Persian  Metasthenes  are  taken  out  of  Eusebius. 
Next  to  be  studied  are  Exodus,  Numbers,  Joshua,  and  the 
Judges  of  Israel.  Philo  the  Alexandrine  traced,  in  outline, 
history  from  Adam  to  the  death  of  Saul.  Diodorus  Siculus 
wrote  on  the  period  between  the  Flood  which  occurred  under 
Ogyges,  a  King  of  Boeotia,  to  his  own  times,  i.e.  up  to 
C.  Caesar  the  Dictator,  of  whom  PHny^  says  (I  do  not  know 
on  what  ground)  that  he  was  the  first  amongst  the  Greeks  to 
degenerate  into  trickery  in  historical  writing,  though,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  there  is  no  greater  inventor  of  tales  than  himself,  only 
he  has  given  to  his  work  no  seductive  or  high-sounding  title 
but  merely  calls  it  (SifSXtoOiJKrj. 

Greek  History  up  to  the  beginning  of  the  Olympiads  is 
very  fabulous,  nor  can  anyone  distinguish  between  what  is 
true  and  false-.  But  even  the  history  of  the  following  ages 
is  not  free  from  falsities,  although  it  contains  a  slightly  larger 
amount  of  facts.  For  its  study  Homer  suppHes  some  help  in 
both  of  his  poems,  although  almost  all  of  him  is  wrapt  round 
with  the  fabulous.  Dares  Phrygius  and  Dictys  Cretensis  are 
the  inventions  of  those  who  wished  to  romance  about  that 
most  renowned  war.  Dion  Prusiensis  prattles  of  the  fable 
that  Troy  was,  after  all,  not  taken.  Philostratus  in  his  history 
corrects  the  great  lies  of